Communications system

ABSTRACT

In a communication network where a subscriber is connected to switches in an originating carrier communications are routed to and/or from the subscriber via at least one communications carrier selected from a plurality of possible communications carriers. Communications control signals associated with outgoing and/or incoming communications are received from the switch at a controller external to the originating carrier. The communications control signals are processed at the controller in dependence upon directions from a third party using information on communications costs for each of the possible communications carriers to select at least one communications carrier for routing communications based on the information on communications cost to generate process communications control signals for routing the communications in accordance with the selection. Process communication control signals will then return to the switch in the originating carrier and the communications from and/or to the subscriber are switched to route the communications via the or each selected communications carrier in accordance with the process communications control signals.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method of controlling communicationsover a communications network and a communication control system.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

In a telecommunications network comprising a plurality of interconnectedcarrier networks, a subscriber is connected to a local loop provider whocan actively control the access that the subscriber has to the networks.The provider of this local loop has been able to effectively controlthis ‘gateway’ to the subscriber to act as an effective tollgate to thesubscriber. (Although generally fixed network examples are used, a verysimilar scenario exists for mobile network operators who operate asimilar ‘tollgate’ for their subscribers). Over recent history there hasbeen regulatory action to curb the power of the local loop providers. Inthe UK for example indirect access has been offered whereby a subscribercan prefix a dialled number with a ‘1XXX’ code to indicate which carrierthe call is to be routed over (dialling parity is not achieved). InCanada equal access is offered where the subscriber can order servicesfrom a particular carrier. Information from that carrier is relayed on amagnetic tape to the subscriber's local loop provider who then programstheir end office exchange to route all inter-exchange calls via thisselected carrier.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,235 discloses a method of allowing a customer toaccess services provided by carriers other than the one to which thecustomer is connected. A mediation point in the local exchange carrier'snetwork determines which of a plurality of alternative carrier databasesare to be used for processing a call. Since the mediation point in thissystem is still part of the local exchange carrier's network, there isno control of communications which is independent to the local loopprovider; and there is no independent controller directed by a thirdparty such as an independent service provider.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,630 discloses a method for use by equipment whichroutes a telephone call to reduce costs. This equipment, such as acustomer's PBX or a local exchange carrier's telephone exchange, obtainsfrom at least one telecoms carrier, the tariff information applicablefor the call, and the equipment then selects the carriers as a functionof the tariff and routes the call. The disadvantage with this method isthat the call-by-call selection of the carrier is made either within theCustomer Premises Equipment (CPE), necessitating certain types of CPEand possibly necessitating communication links between the CPE and theinter-exchange carriers that could be used, or within the localexchange, putting the selection ability and range of carriers that couldbe offered within the control of the local exchange carrier. As thenumber of alterative carriers increases, the first method becomesinefficient and restricts the number of customers where this method iseconomically viable, and the second method maintains the effectivecontrol within the local exchange carrier.

Although the prior art systems provide some form of control for asubscriber, they do not provide a generally accessible system whereby asubscriber can, whilst maintaining dialling parity, control the routingof their communication by control means that are independent of thelocal exchange carrier or mobile carrier to which they subscribe.

Were a subscriber able to achieve this, they would be able to have theircall-by-call routing controlled for them by a service providerindependent of the local exchange carrier (i.e. an independent thirdparty carrier), thus gaining access to potentially lower cost structureswhich could be based on ‘cost plus’ accounting, where the originationcosts (and in some cases termination costs) are regulated interconnectcharges and the onward transit costs are effectively controlled bycompetition. Competitive long-distance or international carriers couldalso make use of such a system again without the necessity for specialcustomer premises equipment (CPE) or customer network access equipment(CNAE), by directing the use of their own network and switchingequipment for only those calls where the use of that network and/orswitching equipment made economic sense, and directing the use of othercarrier's networks for other calls. Competitive market entry will beencouraged by gaining such access to potential subscribers. Thesebenefits singly or combined would have the effect of loweringsubscribers' call charges, and would assist achieving the regulatorsstated goals of offering the customer greater choice, lower cost, andbetter service.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been developed to overcome the limitations ofthe prior art and comprises a method of routing communications fromand/or to a subscriber connected to communications switching means in anoriginating carrier via at least one communications carrier selectedfrom a plurality of possible communications carriers, the methodcomprising the steps of: receiving communications control signalsassociated with outgoing and/or incoming communications from saidcommunications switching means at control means external to saidoriginating carrier; processing said communications control signals atsaid control means in dependence upon directions from a third partyusing information on communications costs for each of the possiblecommunications carriers to select at least one communications carrierfor routing communications based on said information on communicationcosts and to generate processed communications control signals forrouting the communications in accordance with the selection; returningthe processing communications control signals to said switching means insaid originating carrier; and switching the communications from and/orto the subscriber, to route the communications via the or each selectedcommunications carrier in accordance with the processed communicationscontrol signals.

The present invention also provides a communications control system forrouting communications from and/or to a subscriber connected tocommunications switching means in an originating carrier via at leastone other communications carrier selected from a plurality of possiblecommunications carriers, the system being external to said originatingcarrier and comprising: receiving means for receiving communicationscontrol signals associated with outgoing and/or incoming communicationsfrom said communications switching means; processing means forprocessing said communications control signals in dependence upondirections from a third party and using information on communicationscosts for each of the possible communications carriers to select atleast one communications carrier for routing communications based onsaid information on communication costs and to generate processedcommunications control signals for routing the communications inaccordance with the selection; and means for returning the processedcommunications control signals to the switching means in saidoriginating carrier to switch the communications from and/or to thesubscriber and route the communications via the or each selectedcommunications control carrier in accordance with the processedcommunications control signals.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a method of routingcommunications from and/or to a subscriber connected to communicationsswitching means in an originating carrier via at least onecommunications carrier selected from a plurality of possiblecommunications carriers, the method comprising the steps of: generatinginformation for processing outgoing and/or incoming communicationscontrol signals in dependence upon direction from a third party andusing information on communications costs for each of the possiblecommunications carriers at control means external to the originatingcarrier; passing the generated information to a controller in theoriginating carrier; receiving communications control signals associatedwith communications from said communications switching means at saidcontroller; processing said communications control signals at saidcontroller using the generated information to select at least onecommunications carrier for routing communications to the destinationbased on the information on communication costs and to generateprocessed communications signals for routing the communications inaccordance with the selection; returning the processed communicationscontrol signals to said communications switching means in saidoriginating carrier; and switching the communications from and/or to thesubscriber to route the communications via the or each selectedcommunications carrier in accordance with the processed communicationscontrol signals.

A further aspect of the present invention provides a communicationscontrol system for routing communications from and/or to a subscriberconnected to communications switching means in an originating carrier toa destination via at least one communications carrier selected from aplurality of possible communications carriers, the system beingindependent to said originating carrier and comprising: means forgenerating information for processing outgoing and/or incomingcommunications control signals in dependence upon directions from athird party and using information on communications costs for each ofthe possible communications carriers; and means for passing thegenerated information to a controller in the originating carrier;whereby the controller receives communications control signalsassociated with communications from said communications switching means,processes said communications control signals using the generatedinstructions to select at least one communications carrier for routingcommunications to the destination based on information on communicationscosts and to generate processed communications signals for routing thecommunications in accordance with the selection, and returns theprocessed communications control signals to said communicationsswitching means in said originating carrier, and the communications fromand/or to the subscriber are switched to route the communications viathe or each selected communications carrier in accordance with theprocessed communications control signals.

In the brief statements of the invention given above, and thedescription hereinafter, the switching means can comprise anytelecommunications device or devices capable of providing the necessaryfunctionality (i.e. controlling the routing of communications signals ineither aggregated form (e.g. circuit switched voice calls) ordisaggregated form (e.g. IP packets or ATM cells)). The switching meanscould thus comprise a switch or a router for example. Further, a carriercan comprise any arrangement capable of carrying telecommunicationstraffic e.g. a telecommunications network.

The present invention is applicable to any form of telecommunicationsand is not limited to voice signals. Typically telecommunicationsnetworks carry facsimile data and other forms of digital data generatedfor example by modems or by other digitisation means. The communicationssignals can therefore comprise any type of information, for exampletext, audio, video, images and multimedia. The present invention is thusapplicable to communications over IP-based networks such as the Internetin order to control the routing of communications based on directionsfrom a third party.

The third party can comprise at least one of a user, a subscriber, acommunication service provider, and a communications network operator.Thus the present invention allows a user, a subscriber, or a serviceprovider acting on behalf of a subscriber for example to control the wayin which outgoing communications are processed i.e. routed on a call bycall basis in order to select carriers which cost the least, without theneed to add a dialling prefix for outgoing calls.

The processing to be carried out as a function of cost is dependent uponthe directions from the third party and these can either be indirecti.e. the operator of the control means can set up the control means tooperate in accordance with the wishes of the third party, thus savingthe third party time, or direct access can be provided to the controlmeans to allow the third party to set up the processing required,facilitating faster provisioning of more complex services or changes toservice/routing options. Such a direct accessing facility can beprovided by allowing a subscriber to dial in to the communicationcontrol means in order to set up the processing required. Of coursesuitable security measures will need to be taken with such a directfacility e.g. password verification, calling line identity verification,encryption, etc.

In one embodiment all of the communications control signals from callsassociated with the subscriber are directed from the switching means tothe control means, for simplicity of implementation. Alternatively, theswitching means is programmed to identify particular communications tobe processed by the control means so only these can be directed to thecontrol means for processing. This would have the effect of increasingthe efficiency of the interactions between the control means and theswitching means, reducing the number of transactions and offering thepotential for further cost reduction. The identification of thecommunications can, in an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN)implementation, comprise any suitable AIN trigger point. The controlmeans can include a database which is used for the processing of thecommunication signals. The database can include cost information for thepossible carriers which can be used to route communication, andsubscriber specific information.

In these embodiments of the present invention, an independent serviceprovider for example can effectively take control of outgoing andincoming calls on behalf of a subscriber according to a set of enhancedservices as agreed with and sold to the subscriber. By means ofinformation included in the initial communication control signals or insubsequent communication control signals, the operator of the controlmeans and thus a service provider or communications network operatordirecting the control means will also have the information with which tobe able to charge the subscriber for calls that are so controlled. Thepresent invention can be embodied using Intelligent Network (IN) orAdvanced Intelligent Network (AIN) architectures, (where the switchingmeans include one or more SSPs and the control means include one or moreSCPs), although in the future, methods such as Information NetworkingArchitecture (INA) and Telecommunications Information NetworkArchitecture (TINA) may also be used. The ability of a third party toaccess this intelligence controlling the communications network ornetworks via an independent control point or controller allows the thirdparty such as a subscriber to configure and set up their own intelligentservices according to their specific communication requirements. Otherembodiments not based on AIN/IN architectures are also possible, usingsignalling systems such as SS7 (and its geographic variations at bothstandards and implementation levels) and ISDN, singly, or in combination(with the appropriate translation mechanisms), and another alternativeembodiment involves providing the control means with voice switchingcapability, and attempted call set-ups direct to the control means andusing call deflection or call drop back type functions to reroute thecall (although this last embodiment is less efficient on the use ofnetwork resources); and some present or possible future embodiments maycombine architectures and signalling systems. The carriers can comprisea mix of different types of carriers e.g. a mobile network and aconventional fixed network.

In one embodiment the communication control signals are sent to thecontrol point and then processed and then returned to the switchingpoint which then routes the call. This will typically only involve onequery signal and one return signal, and the control point may theneffectively release control of the communication. Alternatively, inanother embodiment, the control point retains control of thecommunication, and can carry out further call processing on receipt offurther communications control signals. This may be used for providingmore complex services and/or to assist in the provision of end-to-endrouting control and/or for billing purposes.

In one embodiment, for most applications it is envisaged that thecontrol point will solely control the processing of the call.Alternatively, the control point may communicate with other like controlmeans in order to provide control signals to switching means in one ormore communication networks. This may be used for example in providingmore complex services or assisting in providing end-to-end routingcontrol.

In one embodiment, the control point is located outside the originatingcarrier's network, and receives communication control signals from andreturns processed communication control signals associated with asubscriber's calls to a switching point in the originating carrier'snetwork. Alternatively, and before the service can be used or as part ofthe provisioning process, the abovementioned external control pointgenerates “global” information such as routing translation informationfor example that is passed to a controller in the originating carrier,so that when the least cost routing service for example is used, thecommunication control signals are sent instead to the originatingcarrier's controller, which then carries out the communication controlsignal processing according to the “global” information that has beenpassed to it by the external control point. This second controller thenperforms the function of passing the processed communication controlsignals back to the switching point. Call-by-call signals between theoriginating network and the external control point could therefore beeliminated for simple services, and the communication between theexternal control point and the originating carrier then covers suchitems as changes to the subscribers service profile, changes to therouting translation information, and billing information (this last itemgenerally happening in a “batch” mode). This alternative approach can incertain circumstances be more efficient, by reducing the amount ofsignalling traffic outside the originating carrier's network. A similarscenario exists for the control of incoming calls. This alternativeapproach may also be implemented using a number of different networkarchitectures and signalling systems, and it should be noted that thealternative control architecture as described may be similarly used tointerface with many carriers, and not just the originating carrier.

The previous embodiments have focused on an external control pointcontrolling the routing of calls from switching means in an originatingcarrier. In normal routing scenarios, once the call has left theoriginating carrier and reaches the next carrier in the route,subsequent routing is generally within the next carrier's control. Analternative embodiment involves the step of sending communicationcontrol signals to switching means in other carriers used for thecommunication to the destination, and for those switching means to thenroute the communication in accordance with the communication controlsignals. These communication control signals could emanate either fromthe external control point and be sent directly to the other carriersswitching means; or alternatively the processed communications controlsignals (returned by the control point to the switching means in theoriginating carrier) include control signals or routing information forthe switching means in the other carriers to be used in thecommunication to the destination. In this last case, an additionalfeature is for control signals or routing information sent to a first ofthe other carriers to be passed by that carrier to a second carrier, andthen by the second carrier to the third, and so on. By these means or acombination of the above means, full end-to-end routing control can beachieved, offering the potential for further lowering costs. Ideallythis end-to-end routing would be achieved without sending any additionalcommunication control signals to the original control point, and suchsignals or routing information will simply be included as additionalinformation in the messages that have to be sent to route the call in anormal scenario. This would have the effect of achieving this end-to-endrouting without very significantly increasing the signalling overhead.The routing information referred to above could be as simple as a seriesof prefixes on the called party number, or could be more complex. Thecurrent state of internetwork communication protocol implementations donot allow for this “daisy chaining”, but it would be helpful ifinternational signalling standards were modified to allow for additionaladdressing or routing information to be included. Simple prefixes areproposed, for example by British Telecommunications plc in their planned‘targeted transit’ service, whereby an originating carrier who wishes touse BT as a transit carrier can prefix the dialled number with 4 digitsin the format 7XXX to indicate which carrier they would like to onwardroute their calls after they leave the BT network. This to a degreeopens up British Telecom's “service addressing” function to be used byinterconnecting carriers. In these scenarios, billing information fromthe originating carrier and/or the other carriers may either be passedto the external control point on a call-by-call basis or in batch mode,and either via direct links or on magnetic tape or paper, and mayemanate from any one or more of the carriers used in the communicationroute.

The routing services described above may also be used in a ‘guesting’context, where a subscriber wishes to access such services whilst a‘guest’ on another subscriber's facilities, which could be on the samenetwork or another network. In this case, the first subscriber registerstheir presence with the control point, for example by dialling a specialaccess number (which could either be a short access code or a standardformat telephone number) and keying a specific account code and PersonalIdentification Number (PIN), and keying further responses to a series ofvoice prompts. The control means, if it recognises the Calling LineIdentity of the second subscriber's line (if not the control means willprompt the user to enter the calling line number), will then registerthe subscriber's location, and download new service trigger informationor preprogramming information into the switching means associated withthe second subscriber's facilities or connection. (Depending on theswitch capability, the new trigger information need not over-write anypreviously existing trigger information, but be stored in additionalspace within the switch.) In this scenario, the control means sends backrouting information appropriate to the subscriber's guest location, sothat the cost-based routing function for example selects carriers forrouting outgoing calls appropriate to that guest location (which couldas noted above be connected to a different network from the subscriber'shome network). The guest subscriber can deregister or be deregisteredthrough a number of alternative means.

-   (1) Again by dialling the special access number and entering the    account code and PIN and following another series of voice prompts.-   (2) An automatic ‘time-out’ which could be set at the time of guest    registration.-   (3) The guest subscriber registering at either their home subscriber    connection or a third subscriber connection.-   (4) The second subscriber following the deregistration voice prompts    to deregister the guest.

These means allowing the guesting subscriber to access their normalservices from secondary locations or facilities, and allow a secondsubscriber to provide their facilities for such a purpose whilst beingable to over-ride this guesting if required.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an intelligent network in accordance with theprior art;

FIG. 2 is a schematic general diagram of a network controlled inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a detailed diagram of a third embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a process associated with thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is a second schematic general diagram of a network controlled inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a detailed diagram of an embodiment of the present invention;and

FIG. 8 is a detailed diagram of an intelligent network embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In future telecommunications network architectures the concept of a callmay be replaced by that of a session or other concept; in theTelecommunications Information Network Architecture (TINA) for example,the concept of a call is replaced by a ‘session’, and a query andresponse is replaced by a sequence of messages within the session). Theinvention encompasses such architectures. Similarly the concept of anoriginator is proposed to move to an ‘invoking party’ and a terminatingparty is proposed to move to an ‘invited party’.

It is understood by those skilled in the art that differing intelligentnetwork standards exist, including the Bellcore AIN releases as well asthe ITU IN standards, and that implementations of such standards areoften partial in differing geographical regions and individual networkoperators. Many networks only use AIN/IN for specific services, andimplementations of AIN/IN in many networks are to some degreeproprietary. The descriptions hereinafter borrow from both AIN and INterminologies, however for those familiar with only one such systemthere are usually equivalent capabilities in the other system. Moreover,the standards for ‘Signalling System No. 7’ differ between regions andindividual networks, with the US standard being ANSI SS7, and Europe'sstandard being. ITU's CCS7; implementations also vary within differentnetworks and territories, with the current signalling standard in the UKfor example being set by British Telecommunications plc with theirversion of the CCS7 standard TUP (Telephone User Part) being implementedin BT-NUP (defined in the BT document BTNR167). The call drop-backfacility for example is not noted in the standard CCS7 TUP, but is notedin BTNR167, and is also planned for later releases of Signalling SystemNo. 7 ISDN User part (ISUP). As the degree of CCS7 implementation innetworks has not been fully rolled out, some of the information and/orcall flows have to be realised in a non-ideal way (using “tromboning”where a call cannot be dropped back for example), however this does notaffect the essence of the invention, and indeed as the architecture oftelecommunications networks evolve, the implementation of the inventionwill increase in elegance. For ease of reference I use Signalling SystemNo. 7 in this document.

STPs are typically used in intelligent network implementations wherenon-associated or quasi-associated signalling is used, for example inthe United States. In other IN implementations, STPs may not always beemployed.

In the description of any IN/AIN implementations that follow, AINterminology such as ‘a TCAP query’ has been used for simplicity todescribe interactions between SSPs and SCPs for example. In Europe,convention would dictate that such a phrase as ‘an INAP (IntelligentNetwork Application Part) query’ is used instead, but as INAP runs overTCAP in the Signalling System No. 7 protocol stack, the phrase ‘TCAPquery’ has been used for commonality purposes, as this is commonlyunderstood in the USA. Where the phrase ‘raw TCAP’ has been used, thisindicates a non-intelligent network implementation of the message thusreferred to, and this distinction should be noted.

For ease and consistency of reference, the word subscriber has beenused, and again for these reasons it has been generally assumed in thetext that there is only one user associated with the subscriber'ssubscription. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatadditional embodiments are possible when more than one user isassociated with a subscription.

Similarly, the terms network operator and carrier have been usedsynonymously, but it should be noted that a carrier may own or controlmore than one network, but in the embodiments described hereinafterthere is a one-to-one mapping.

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional intelligent network to which asubscriber 1 connects via a subscriber line 1 a to the network. A switchwhich has a service switching function in association therewith forms aservice switching point (SSP) 2. The network comprises at least one suchSSP 2, and a subscriber 1 making a call connects to one such SSP 2 by asubscriber line 1 a. The service switching points (SSPs) 2 can act topass communication control information or switching information to aService Control Point (SCP) 9 optionally via a one or more SignalTransfer Points (STPs) 7. The SCP 9 processes the communication controlinformation, and again optionally via one or more STPs 7 passes theprocessed control information back the SSP 2 for routing of the call.(The service management system (SMS) 6 is not used on a call-by-callbasis, but is an administrative database and holds data on the servicesto which individual subscribers such as subscriber 1 have subscribed;this SMS 6 updates any changes to subscribers' service profiles in theSCP 4.) This conventional arrangement is used for basic ‘Freephone’number calling for example. Let us assume that the ‘Freephone’ number isdesired to terminate at subscriber A's number. The call processing mayuse the following steps;

-   -   The subscriber 1 dials the ‘Freephone’ number (eg 0800 1234567).    -   The SSP 2 ‘sees’ the called party number prefix (0800) and        suspends the normal processing of the call and sends a query        message to the SCP 9 possibly via STP 7.    -   The SCP 9 uses a service logic programme and the information on        the originating subscriber's service profile to translate the        0800 number into subscriber A's number.    -   SCP 9 then returns subscriber 10's number to the SSP 2 again        possibly via STP 7, and may also instruct the SSP 2 to monitor        the call for billing purposes and to pass the ‘call detail        record’ back to the SCP 9 after the call ends.    -   SSP 2 then routes the call to subscriber A's number.

FIG. 2 illustrates schematically the principles of the present inventionwherein a subscriber 10 connected to an originating network 30 makes acall via at least one of a plurality of switches S1. Communicationcontrol signals in the form of one or more messages are passed fromswitch S1 to a controller 20 external to the originating network 30 andindependent thereto. Switch S1 has been pre-programmed to pass thecommunication control signals in the above described manner. Thecontroller 20 processes the communication control signals under thedirection of a third party director 40, using information on costsincurred in routing communications originating at subscriber to throughother carrier networks 50 and 60 (or directly) to a terminating network70 to reach a destination 80, in order to calculate the route as afunction of the information on costs, e.g., in order to calculate theroute using the carrier network and/or route which incurs the leastcost. Processed communications control signals are then returned to theswitch S1 and the telephone call is routed via the network 50 or 60 (ordirectly) through terminating network 70 to the destination 80 inaccordance with the processed communication control signals. As can beseen in this embodiment the controller 20 is independent to theoriginating network 30 and can be directed by any third partydirections. The director 40 can comprise at least one of a user, asubscriber, a communication service provider, and a communicationsnetwork operator. The operator of the control means 20 will typically bea service provider or communications network operator. The subscriber 10can act as the director 40 in order to provide the required services.The director 40 can direct the operator of controller 20 manually to setup the processing for the service, or alternatively the director 40 canbe provided with the ability to directly interface with or dial into thecontroller 20, in order to set up the processing in controller 20 toprovide the required services; this in turn may alter the programming inswitches S1. Alternatively, the director 40 could comprise a serviceprovider which is to provide a service for a number of subscribers. Thepre-programming of the switch S1 will include such steps as arenecessary to decode routing information (i.e. codes relating to whichcarriers and/or routes are selected) that can be received by switch S1as part of the processed communication control signals returning fromcontroller 20 to switch S1.). There are a number of ways in which theschematic arrangement of FIG. 2 can be implemented and these will now bedescribed hereinafter.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention whichcomprises an intelligent network (IN), which in US terminology would bedescribed as an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN). A subscriber 1 isconnected to one of a plurality of switches 2 within communicationsnetwork 30. Each switch comprises a telephone exchange with SSPfunctionality. Also shown are communications networks 50 and 60 eachcontaining one or more switches 52 and 62 respectively, and adestination network 70 containing one or more switches 72. Theoriginating network 30 connects via trunks to switches 52, 62, and 72 ofcarriers 50, 60 and 70 respectively. Within the network 30 there isprovided network element managers 4, which are used by the operator ofnetwork 30 (hereinafter described as carrier 30), to programme switches2. Separate to the network 30 there is provided a controller embodied asan Integrated Services Control Point (ISCP) 15 in which an SCP 12 isconnected to the SSP of the switches 2 via an STP 7 and a ‘fire wall’ or‘filter’ (FF) 8. The firewall or filter (FF) 8 may be embodied as aspecial purpose SCP within carrier 30's network; alternatively some ofthe FF functions may be resident as additional software within the SCP 9that carrier 30 may normally use for its own IN call processing and/orin the STP 7. SCP 9 is connected to the SSPs in switches 2 and to STP 7.The connections shown as dotted lines that link to switch 2, STP 7, FF8, SCP 9 and ISCP 15 are Signalling System No. 7 data links. Thefunction of the FF 8 is to validate/authenticate and generally approvemessage type, content, sequence, and addressing, so that the signalsdirected from ISCP 15 to switch 2 are checked for authenticity,validity, or compatibility with the carrier 30's network implementation,regulatory constraints, and valid address codes for elements within (andpossibly outside) carrier 30's network. The firewall/filter functionsinside the ISCP controller 15 (functions used for similar validationand/or authentication of signals from networks 30 or 50) are in thisexample embodied variously in the STP 11 and the SCP 12, althoughseparate embodiments of these functions are possible. Similar FFs 58,98, 108, 118 are provided in networks 50, 90, 100, 110 as can be seen inFIG. 4. The SCP 12 if provided with a database 13, shown separately andas part of the ISCP here, although in some embodiments, the database 13may be integrated into the SCP 12, and in other embodiments one or moresuch databases could be used; such databases may be external to butconnected with the ISCP, and some may even be operated or directed by adifferent third party. The SCP 12 is also provided with directions froma director (not shown, and which can comprise at least one of a user, asubscriber, a service provider, and a communications network operator),are entered into the service management system (SMS) 14. The servicemanagement system (SMS) 14 is connected over an X.25 link to a servicemanagement interface (SMI) 5 within the originating network 30, and thisservice management interface (SMI) 5 is in turn connected over an X.25link to network element managers (EM) 4. The element managers 4 areconnected over X.25 links to the switches 2 in order to update theprogrammes and trigger points therein. Where X.25 links have been shown,it is also possible for other types of data links to be used dependingon the network architectures within network 30 and the network (notshown) associated with the ISCP 15. (The information used to update theprogrammes and trigger points in the switches is sometimes described inIN terminology as ‘service trigger information’.) In this way theservice management system (SMS) 14 can control the programming of theswitch 2 in order that call-by-call queries can be sent via the STP 7 tothe ISCP 15 in order for example for a least cost routing determinationto be carried out. Although in this embodiment the programming of theswitches 2 is achieved via the SMI 5 and the element managers 4, it willbe apparent to those skilled in the art that such programming is alsopossible by means of the SSP switch 2 and the SCP 12 establishing a TCAPdialogue via the STP 7 and FF 8, and service trigger information beingdownloaded into SSP switch 2 (again via STP7 and FF 8). Instructions forservice provisioning and/or service changes (that reach the ISCP 15either manually by the operator of ISCP 15 or for example by thesubscriber dialling in to the ISCP 15), can if required alter theprogramming in switches 2 using either of the alternative means outlinedabove. The SCP 12 and/or the database 13 can contain information ontariffs for the other carriers 50 and 60 (and 30) in the compositecommunications network to enable a determination as to which networkcarrier 50 or 60 (or 30) the call is to be routed through in order toachieve for example the lowest cost, and as to which alternative networkcarriers should be used if the first carrier's network is busy. Thepre-programming of the switches 2 may cause or trigger communicationcontrol signals to reach ISCP 15 for all outgoing calls from thesubscriber, and/or for all incoming call attempts to the subscriber,and/or for specifically identified communications criteria using acombination of AIN triggers. The pre-programming of the switches 2 willalso include such steps as are necessary to decode routing information(i.e. information relating to which carrier is selected) that can bereceived by switch 2 as part of the processed communication controlsignals returning from ISCP 15 to switch 2. Switch 2 then acts inaccordance with the processed communication control signals to effectthe desired call processing or routing. (The information on alternativecarriers and/or routes to be used in case of congestion in the networkof the first selected carrier may be returned as part of the firstprocessed communications control signal, or as part of subsequentcommunication control signals.) As can be seen in FIG. 3, the carriernetwork 50 is also connected via STP 57 to the ISCP 15 by means of aSignalling System No. 7 data link, allowing calls received at switch 52to also be processed (to achieve least cost routing for subscribers suchas subscriber 51 with exchange lines connected to carrier 50's network,or for example and to be described in detail subsequently, to achieve‘end-to-end routing control’). In this embodiment the switching point 52is also a telephone exchange with software loaded to provide an SSP. Thepre-defined triggers for the queries to be sent from the SSP 2 to theSCP 12 in ISCP 15 are at least one AIN trigger (using US AINterminology). Examples of AIN triggers are off-hook immediate, off-hookdelay primary rate interface, individualised dialling plan, officedialling plan, transit network selection, originating line information,directory number, automatic route selection, automatic alternaterouting, basic rate interface feature button, terminating attempt andvirtual number. (For countries with ITU standards, the trigger point isa combination of either an IN trigger detection point (TDP) or an INevent detection point (EDP), and trigger criteria indicating whatconditions must be met e.g. called number, calling number, line busyetc.) The messages passing between the SSPs (2 52) and the SCPs (9 1259) are Signalling System No. 7 messages which may be sent over one ormore Common Channel Interoffice Signalling (CCIS) networks, and whichmay be sent via one or more Signal Transfer Points (STPs) (7 11 57).Normally the service logic in the SCP 12 is invoked on the first querymessage from SSP 2, however the service logic may need to invoke further‘nested’ queries to carry out more complex communications processing.

The typical means of operation of such a system for an outgoing call isas follows:—

The subscriber 1 directs the operator of ISCP 15 to set up a least-costoutgoing calling service. The operator of ISCP 15 enters the relevantinformation into the SMS 14, which then updates carrier 30's SMI 5,which in turn via an element manager (EM) 9 pre-programmes the switch 2to which subscriber 1's exchange line is connected. SMS 14 also updatesSCP 12 or database 13, and the least-cost routing service is now active.Upon an outgoing call from subscriber 1's exchange line with thepre-requisite number of digits having been dialled, the AIN triggers inswitch 2 are activated and a TCAP query message is sent from switch 2via STP 7 to ISCP 15. ISCP 15 validates and authenticates the message inits STP 11 and SCP 12. Processing of the query message is carried out inSCP 12 to determine the lowest cost carrier and route, optionally usingdata in database 13, and a TCAP response message containing routinginstructions for switch 2 is generated within SCP 12. This responsemessage is then sent via STPs 11 and 7 to switch 2, which then receivesthe response message, decodes it, and executes the routing instructioncontained in the response message. The call is thus routed according tothe lowest cost carrier and route.

The typical means of operation of such a system for an incoming callrequiring redirection is as follows:—

The subscriber 1 directs the operator of ISCP 15 to set up a least-costincoming call redirection service. The operator of ISCP enters therelevant information into the SMS 14, which then updates carrier 30'sSMI 5, which (as before) via an element manager 4 pre-programmes theswitch 2 to which subscriber 1's exchange line is connected. SMS 14again updates SCP 12 and/or database 13, and the service is now active.(The mechanisms whereby subscriber 1 alters programming parameters suchas redirection numbers are described in detail with reference to FIG. 7,but will usually be based on Customer Local Access Signalling System(CLASS) services already in common use for such purposes.) Upon anincoming call attempt reaching switch 2 from say subscriber 51, andassuming subscriber 1 wishes to redirect their incoming calls todestination 61, the triggers in switch 2 are activated and a TCAP querymessage is sent from switch 2 via STP 7 to ISCP 15. As before, ISCP 15validates and authenticates the message in its STP 11 and SCP 12, andSCP 12 processes the query but using the telephone number of destination61 (previously entered e.g. via CLASS services), to derive a least-costcarrier and/or route selection, and generating a TCAP response messagecontaining routing instructions in accordance with the carrier and/orroute selected. The TCAP response message is again sent via STPs 11 and7 and FF 8 to switch 2, which then receives the response message,decodes it, and executes the routing instruction contained in theresponse message. The call is again thus routed according to the lowestcost carrier and/or route from switch 2 to the destination 61. By themethods outlined above, the third party directing the processing withinthe ISCP 15 can effectively take control of outgoing and incoming callson behalf of a subscriber.

FIG. 4 illustrates in detail an intelligent network embodiment of thepresent invention in which there are a plurality of interconnectedcarrier networks 30, 50, 60, 70, 90, 100, 110 and 150, forming acomposite communications network. FIG. 4 can be viewed as an extensionof FIG. 3; the same numbering has been used, and the description of FIG.3 above applies equally to FIG. 4. What follows is a description ofadditional features and functionality in reference to this figure,together with some more complex examples of use.

A carrier can be any entity operating a communication network and aservice provider is the entity providing a communication service overits own communications network and/or other communications networks. Thecarriers could alternatively be mobile networks or privately ownedcorporate networks or national/international virtual private networks(NVPNs and IVPNs), or could themselves be composite networks. Thesubscriber 1 (that also owns mobile handset 400) to whom the enhancedservice is being provided will have a subscriber service profilepre-programmed into the switch 2 of the network operated by thesubscriber's local exchange carrier 30 and/or another similar subscriberservice profile programmed into network elements within mobile carrier90, which, upon activation of a predefined trigger, sends a signallingmessage to the master service provider defined in the ‘subscriberservice profile’ (in the example shown in FIG. 4 this master serviceprovider is the operator of carrier network 150, and the control meanswithin this network is the ISCP 15). Upon receipt of a query signal fromany SSP in the network, ISCP 15 then returns normally just onesignalling response message (however the query/response sequence may berepeated a number of times to effectively form a dialogue or thequery/response sequence may be interspersed with one or more pairs of‘conversation’ messages in a TCAP dialogue), which gives or callprocessing instructions to the originating network 30 or 90. Theoriginating network 30 or 90 may again at its option authenticate andvalidate the call processing instruction with a ‘firewall’ or ‘filter’(FF) 8, 98 (to ensure compatibility with the network elements handlingthe call). In the composite network embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 thecomposite network comprises eight separate carriers and/or serviceproviders one of which acts as the master service provider (iecontroller 20 in the FIG. 2 schematic) and these are:

-   a. A local exchange network (originating network) 30 that subscriber    1 is normally connected to;-   b. A destination carrier 70;-   c. The master service provider 150;-   d. Two separate carrier/service providers 50, 110 offering services;-   e. An interconnecting carrier 120;-   f. The carrier 60 which has a subscriber 61 connected to it, and    which is connected to originating network 30 only via carrier 120;-   g. A carrier 100 that is directly connected to carrier 60 and may or    may not be directly connected to the subscriber's carrier but which    has connected to it an IP 103; and-   h. A mobile carrier 90 that the subscriber is normally connected to    in their ‘home’ region (another originating network).

In FIG. 4 the originating carrier 30 includes a number of localexchanges or switches 2 providing connections to and from localcommunication lines coupled to end users' telephone equipment ofsubscribers 1 and 6. The other originating network, mobile carrier 90,includes the number of mobile switching centres (MSCs) 92 providingconnections to the radio network offering the service to thesubscriber's mobile handset 400). Each fixed network carrier will alsotypically have one or more tandem switching exchanges providing trunkconnections between the local exchanges and between themselves, and somenetworks may have intermediate switching exchanges between localexchanges and tandem exchanges in the switching ‘hierarchy’. Some largenetwork operators may have many hundreds of switches, others may haveonly one switch. These distinctions are readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art. The local, tandem, and intermediate switches in eachcarrier are therefore not shown separately, but for ease of illustrationare shown as a ‘stack’ of switches with one number against the stack,and a reference in the text to ‘switch 2’, for example, may refer to anyone or a plurality of switches 2 unless further specified within thetext. The originating carrier switch 2 connects via trunks to switches52, 62, 92, 102 and 112 in the networks of carriers 50, 60, 90, 100, 110respectively (although the direct connection of switches 2 and 102 isnot necessary—and these trunks are therefore illustrated with a heavydashed line). For ease of illustration, trunks have not been drawnbetween carrier 90 and the other carriers (60 70 100 110 120 130), norbetween carriers 30 and 70. The direct termination option between eitherof carriers 30 or 90, and terminating carrier 70 should however benoted, as should the possibility that a call originating on carrier 30transits via another network (say carrier 10) and then returns tocarrier 30 for termination to a termination point 100 on carrier 30'snetwork—such routing may be desirable for reasons of cost. Each of theswitches has at least minimal signalling capability and typicallyconsists of programmable digital switches with CCIS (Common ChannelInteroffice Signalling) communications capabilities; they are referredto as Signalling Points (SP) in relation to intelligent networkpractice. One example of this is the Nortel DMS range of switches. Othervendors such as GPT Lucent and Ericsson manufacture comparable switchesthat similarly can have additional software loaded to effectively turnthe SP implementation into a SSP implementation which can recognise thefull set of AIN/IN triggers and launch appropriate signalling messages.It should be noted however that not all of the composite networkswitches need this functionality. In the originating network 30 at leastthe local exchange switch 2 (or a switch 2 through which all ofsubscriber 1's calls pass), and preferably all the switches areprogrammable to be able recognise trigger points (predefined triggers)and to be able therefore, on activation of a trigger by the triggerconditions being met, to send messages to and receive messages from theISCP 15 operated by carrier 150. In the other originating network 90 theMSCs 92 should be so programmable. Carrier 150's switch 16 should alsohave SSP functionality, as should at least one of each of switches 52,102 and 112. The initial selection of which carrier operates as this‘master service provider’ is controlled by the programming entered intoor down-loaded into switches 2, 92 and/or into other network elements(such as Home Location Registers (HLRS) in the case of mobile network90). (For the purposes of this FIG. 4 the carrier that has been selectedto operate as this master service provider is carrier 150.) Switchessuch as switch 2 that have the capabilities to send and receive AINtriggers are referred to as Service Switching Points (SSPs). The masterservice provider 150's ISCP 15 comprises an STP 11, an SCP 12 a database13 and a service management system 14. The ISCP 15 may in otherembodiments be replaced by its constituent parts. The database 13contains information to be used by the SCP 12 for processing the controlsignals. The service management system comprising separateadministrative database 14 contains the subscriber service profile dataused to update the SCP 12 and/or database 13, and to interface withother carrier's administrative systems, embodied by SMIs 5, 55, 95, 105,and 115 in carriers 30, 50, 90, 100, and 110.

The ISCP 15 operates to:

-   a. Down-load subscriber-related programming, parameter, and option    selection information processed by the SCP 12 for the purposes of    setting up or modifying the programming, parameters, or options in    the network elements to which to down-loading is directed, so that    the subscriber's service is set up or modified according to their    requirements. In network 30, this information would be downloaded    into at least one switch 2 of the subscriber's network 30 via STP 7    and FF 8, or via the network element managers 4 and service    management interface 5 which is typically linked to the switches 2    via an X.25 link. (In other networks the corresponding network    elements would be downloaded to.)-   b. Receive and return signalling messages from and to the switch 2    of the originating network;-   c. Send signalling messages to and receive signalling messages from    SCPs 59, 99, 109 and 119 and/or SSPs 52, 92, 102 and 112 via STPs    57, 97, 107 and 117, and/or to and from like means operated by other    carriers or service providers, and/or to and from the Intelligent    Peripheral (IP) 17 or service node (SN) 18 of the carrier/service    provider 150.

The constituent components of the ISCP 15 are typically connected by aninternal and separate high speed data network. Within the local exchangenetwork 30 the common channel inter office signalling (CCIS) network mayinclude one or more STPs and includes Signalling System No. 7 data linksshown as dotted lines between SSPs 2, SCP 9 (and STPs 7 and FF 8).Typically STPs are implemented as mated pairs for redundancy purposes,so references to ‘an STP’ in this document can generally be read as ‘anSTP pair’. A Signalling System No. 7 data link also connects STP 7 toSTP 11. Other dotted lines shown in this and other figures are alsoSignalling System No. 7 links. The purpose of the intelligent peripheralIP 17 is to provide intelligent announcement and digit collectioncapabilities and possibly speech recognition. The intelligent peripheral17 is connected via an appropriate circuit to a switch 16 of thecarrier/master service provider 150's network. The IP 17 communicateswith the ISCP 15 or the STP 11 via a data communications network. (Anemerging alternative IN implementation is the Service Node (SN) 18 wherethe SN embodies a Specialised Resource Function, a Service SwitchingFunction, a Service Control Function, and a Service Data Function. Aservice node could thus replace the SSP 16, the IP 17, and all theconstituent parts of ISCP 15 except the Service Management System. Notall of the functions within the SN may be used however, and in thisfigure the SN 18 has been illustrated as a replacement for SSP 16 and IP17, and links to the ISCP 15 via a separate data communications network,but if this arrangement were implemented in practice, the service node'sinternal SSP being tightly coupled to the internal SCP would necessitatethis internal SCP being programmed to transfer messages to and receivemessages from SCP 12.) Although in this diagram the terminals at 1, 400are shown as telephones, they could in fact be any device compatiblewith a local communications line or mobile communications link. Wherethe line is a standard voice grade telephone line, the terminals couldinclude modems, PBXs, or facsimile machines. Where other types of linksare used e.g. broadband lines, radio, etc, then other terminal devicesmay be used. FIG. 4 illustrates carrier network 90 as a GSM mobilenetwork. In this network mobile subscribers 400 communicate with BaseStations (BS) 96 a which have respective Base Station Controllers (BSC)96 b associated therewith. Base station controllers 96 b communicatewith a Mobile Switching Centre (MSC) 92. A Home Location Register (HLR)91 is provided which comprises a database used to store the subscriberinformation for all subscribers within the home service area of theservice provider. The visitor location register (VLR) 93 is provided tostore information about visiting subscribers who are not in their homeservice area. The mobile network is connected to carrier network 30 viathe MSCs 92. Also for switching purposes MSC 92 is connected over anSignalling System No. 7 link via an STP 97 to the SCP 16, and HLRs 91and VLRs 92 are also linked to STP 97 via Signalling System No. 7 datalinks. The control of the signal addressing (to ensure thatcommunication control signals are received by the ISCP 15) can beachieved by loading the necessary information into the HLR 91, fromwhich it can be subsequently loaded as part of the normal operations ofa mobile carrier with other information contained in the HLR 91, intothe MSC 92/VLR 93 of the physical location where the mobile user isbased and where the call may originate from. (MSCs and VLRs arefrequently implemented in mobile networks as combined MSC/VLR pairs.)Some alteration may be necessary of the data structures within the HLRand MSC/VLR combinations, but in general MSCs can be relatively simplyupgraded with software from the MSC manufacturer to provide the MSC withSSP functionality. Similar structures of network element managers 94(and in some cases a service management interface 95) exist that can belinked to carrier 150's subscriber management system 14.

Referring now to the method of operation, assuming the use of an offhook delay trigger, for a subscriber that has subscribed for example toa ‘least cost outgoing call routing service’ from master serviceproviding carrier 130; every time a terminating station goes off hookand has dialled the pre-requisite number/selection of digits, the switch2 sends a TCAP signalling query message via STP 7 to the master ISP 150's ISCP 15 (and specifically SCP 12 via STP 11). The database within theISCP 15 (at SCP 12 and/or database 13) identifies the carrier and/orroute which can provide the least cost termination for that call e.g.carrier 50, and sends back to switch 2 via STP 7 and FF 8, a TCAPsignalling response message, containing a routing instruction to theswitch 2 to route the call via carrier 50, and containing billinginstructions to the switch 2, such that carrier 50 charges that call tocarrier 150's account with carrier 50 (so carrier 150 can arrange forthe billing of subscriber 1). (Alternate routing instructions mayaccompany or follow if the specified route is congested.) These billinginstructions to switch 2 during the call set-up phase switch may alsorequest billing information from switch 2 to be sent to ISCP 15 as partof the call tear-down process; (and these instructions could invoke afurther instruction to switch 2 to request billing information fromcarrier 50's interconnecting switch and having both billing items sentback to ISCP 15 so real-time accounting could be accomplished). Currentagreed inter-administration procedures do not cater for this real-timebilling, however technical implementation is possible, and particularlywith end-end routing scenarios, such a facility would be allow thecommunications cost data stored in SCP 12 or in database 13 to bevalidated and speedily adjusted. The billing information may have beenrequested as described above, at the time of call tear-down, or may bestored in the various switches (in this case 2, 52) and forwarded toISCP from carriers 2 and 52 as part of normal inter-administrationprocedures. As before, STPs may not be used to route signalling messagesexcept where non-associated or quasi-associated signalling is used e.g.in the USA. If the call is a local call, then it is likely that thesignalling message will result in an instruction that the call will becompleted by the subscriber's local network 30, but the billing couldagain be organised via carrier 150 so that the billing for this callcan, if desired, be consolidated with the billing of the previous callexample.

In another example, when subscriber 6 dials subscriber 1 and subscriber1 has actuated a service with carrier 150 to divert all incoming callsto carrier 150's voice mail, except priority calls where the callerenters a previously known and preprogrammed priority PIN number andconsequently gets routed to subscriber 1's mobile handset 400. Asbefore, switch 2 detects the termination attempt trigger and in responsethe switch 2 formulates a TCAP protocol query message and sends thatmessage through the Signalling System No. 7 network including one ormore STPs 7 to the ISCP 15. The ISCP 15 uses the dialled digits (i.e.called party address) to return a response back to switch 2 via the STP7 to route the call through SSP switch 2 via one or more tandemexchanges into switch 16 and then to the correct routing number in IP17. The IP 17 will record a message from the subscriber 6, unlesssubscriber 6 overrides the announcement by dialling the PIN number ontheir handset. In this case the IP 17 sends a signal back to the ISCP15, and where possible in the carrier networks and interconnectsignalling, the ISCP 15 then instructs the dropping back of the call toswitch 2 with a routing instruction to route the call to thesubscriber's mobile number (at handset 400) on carrier 90's network.Switch 2 re-routes the call, and subscriber 1 answers. A more complexexample is where subscriber 1 has defined a service with carrier 150 forall incoming calls to be diverted to a voice mail system operated bycarrier 60 wherein the originating subscriber is subscriber 61. In thiscase subscriber 61 dials subscriber 1 through switches 62 and 2, and viainterconnecting carrier 120's network. As before switch 2 detects thetermination attempt as a trigger. In response, the SSP switch 2formulates a TCAP protocol query message and sends that message throughthe Signalling System No. 7 network to the ISCP 15. The ISCP 15 uses thedialled digits (ie the called party address) to return the relevantnumber within the voice mail system operated by carrier 100 using IP 103and sends an instruction to switch 2 to route the call directly fromswitch 2 to switch 102 without ‘tromboning’ the call, but instead bydropping back the call through interconnecting carrier 120 to one ofswitches 62, and onward from that switch 62 to switch 102, which wouldthen route the call to IP 102, thus utilising the most efficient callpath. If IP 102 was connected to the Signalling System No. 7 network atswitch 102 and switch 102 was connected to the STP 11 via the compositeSignalling System No. 7 network, the ISCP could take control of the callagain if for example certain PIN digits were entered by the originatingsubscriber 61 and then further call processing instructions could begiven by the ISCP 15 through the composite SS7 network.

Another set of examples can be provided if, as illustrated, ISCP 15 isconnected to other carriers SCPs (59 109 119) optionally via STPs (57107 117); ISCP 15 then has the capability, if so programmed, toconstruct composite services consisting of individual services fromthose carriers (50 100 110) as well as its own services prioritised in ahierarchical fashion and/or selected based on combinations of theindividual trigger criteria and status information such as time of day(as per the prior art); interworking of IN service control functions isaddressed in the ITU's IN CS-2 recommendations.

In the embodiments shown thus far, for ease of illustration, it could beassumed that the particular switch sending the query to the controlleris the subscriber's local exchange. This may not necessarily be thecase, and in some network implementations; the switches that aretriggered and that therefore send the queries, may be intermediate oreven tandem exchanges. It should also be noted, in addition to theabove, that although query and response messages may be sent from andreturned to one switch in the communications path, that re-routing willtake place from another switch in the communications path. If thesubscriber 1 has a special access terminal (not shown), for example amodem and PC with special software (or a ‘smartphone’), they can dialinto carrier 150's SMS (14) over the Public Switched Telephone Network(PSTN) and identified by their calling line identity (CLI); upon furtheruser identification by means of a PIN number, (where that PIN may betransmitted to the ISCP via a secure encrypted link), then subscriber 1can create or customise their own service profile within SMS 14.

In the embodiments shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 which are implemented asfull intelligent networks, IN Application Part is used in conjunctionwith the TCAP messages, so the TCAP queries and responses referred to inthe text are in fact using INAP or the AIN equivalent sometimes referredto as AINAP as the protocol layer above TCAP—the distinction must benoted between this type of message and the ‘raw’ TCAP message, both ofwhich would be termed Signalling System No. 7 messages. Where a raw TCAPmessage has been used, this is specifically.

Referring again to FIG. 4, it has been seen that the embodiments asdescribed thus far have shown ISCP 15 sending back a TCAP signal to SSPswitch 2 in response to a query therefrom, including information in theresponse which directs SSP switch 2 to perform routing as a function ofcosts of carriers directly interconnected with the originating carriernetwork. In alternative embodiments which can also be implemented usingintelligent network architectures, control of routing is achieved forall carriers in the routing ‘chain’, thus opening up the possibility ofachieving end-to-end routing constructed from element-based charging.This has the potential for further cost reduction. Both types ofembodiment rely on additional information on communications costs beingloaded into SCP 12 and/or database 13, this additional informationconcerning transit costs of all possible networks that could be used forthe call in sequence/combination (for example in a ‘tree’ format withbranches representing the possible carriers in the route). The firstsuch embodiment has additional pre-programming loaded into the gatewaySSP switching means 52, 102 or 112 within carriers 50, 100 and 110, suchthat a communication passing through that switch with certain signallinginformation associated therewith (hereinafter called an end-to-endrouting indicator) triggers a subsequent query from that switch 52, 102or 112, which is directed via STPs 57, 107, or 117 to ISCP 15. ISCP 15processes the subsequent query based on information on communicationscosts from carriers 50, 100, or 10 to destination carrier 70 eitherdirectly or via one other of the abovementioned carriers. A subsequentrouting determination is made at ISCP 15, and a return signal generated,with a subsequent routing instruction and if appropriate an end-to-endrouting indicator, and the switch 52, 102 or 110 being so instructedroutes the call in accordance with those instructions. If, for example,the first query from SSP switch 2 receives a return response whichincludes the end-to-end routing indicator, directing the use of carrier110 and with instructions to switch 2 to relay the end-to-end routingindicator to carrier 110, then upon the call (and the end-to-end routingindicator reaching carrier 110's SSP switch 112, a second query islaunched again directed at ISCP 15, either directly (ie via STP 117) orvia SSP switch 2 and STP 7. A second response is generated at ISCP 15(again based on the ‘tree’ of routing costs) again including theend-to-end routing indicator, directing the use of carrier 50 and withinstructions to switch 112 to relay the end-to-end routing indicator toSSP switch 52; this second response is routed back to SSP switch 112 incarrier 110's network, again either directly (ie via STP 117 and FF 118)or indirectly (via STP 7, FF 8, and SSP switch 2). Upon receipt of thisrouting instruction, SSP switch 112 routes the call to switch 52 incarrier 50's network. The next query in the sequence will be triggeredat carrier 50's switch 52, and be routed to the ISCP 15 directly, (ievia STP 57), or indirectly back along the signal path (via switch 112,switch 2, and STP 7); this query in turn then receives a response. Bythis means, ISCP 15 retains control of the call as it progresses. Itwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that this process could berepeated through a multiplicity of carriers until the call is terminatedat the destination carrier (in this example carrier 70), and that thereis a signalling overhead associated with this method, which shouldtherefore be taken into account in the cost calculations, and also thatsome modification of current interconnecting signalling procedures andprotocols may be needed to accommodate an end-to-end routing indicatorunless such an indicator is inserted into an existing signallinginformation field.

A modification of this first embodiment involves the ISCP 15 downloadingsections of the routing tree related to a particular carrier (50 or 100or 110) to the SCPs (59 109 and 119) in the respective carrier togetherwith a subset of the service logic from ISCP 15, and the abovementionedsecond or subsequent queries and responses are directed to and receivedback from the respective SCPs. The second embodiment of this end-to-endrouting is simpler in concept but will almost certainly require somemodification of current interconnecting procedures and protocols. Aquery from SSP switch 2 is directed to ISCP 15 via STP 7, and ISCP 15then generates a response and passes it to switch 2 via STP 7 and FF 8,however in this response all of the information for the completeend-to-end route is included, such information being included in thesignalling message that needs to exist for call set-up purposes; suchinformation is decoded at designated switching points in the route(usually each carrier's incoming gateway switch as well as theoriginating switch 2) and such information may be modified by thatswitching point such that the original or modified end-to-end routeinformation (stripping off for example the information relating to thepart of the route that has already been traversed) is included in thesignalling message that needs to exist for call set-up purposes to thenext designated point in the route and thence on to the destination. Bythis means, end-to-end routing information is passed along from Switch 2to switch 112, modified at switch 112, passed with the call set-upsignal to switch 52, modified at switch 52, and the process of passingon and modification can be repeated again and again until thedestination is reached. This method has the advantage of passing theend-to-end routing information to the destination as part of the call,ie the call becomes self-routing.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart describing a logical sequence of steps involved inthe routing of an outgoing communication, using a system such as thatillustrated in FIG. 2. The process starts with step 501, with subscriber10 initiating an outgoing call and dialling the destination digits ofdestination 80, which reach switch S1. In step 502, switch S1 passescommunications control signals to controller 20. In step 503, thecontroller 20 under the direction of a third party 40 processes thecommunication signals, using information on costs incurred in routingcommunications originating at subscriber 10 through other carriernetworks 50, 60 (or directly) to calculate and select the route whichincurs the least cost. In step 504, the processed communications controlsignals are returned to switch S1, and in step 505 the call is routed byswitch S1 in accordance with the processed communications controlsignals to the destination 80.

Although the intelligent network embodiments described with reference toFIG. 3 and FIG. 4 refer to programming SSP switch 2 to pass (uponactivation of an AIN/IN trigger) only communication control signals (viathe Signalling System No. 7 link to the control point), in analternative embodiment, shown in FIG. 6 and using the same descriptionas that for FIG. 2, but where the link between switch S1 and controller20 shown in FIG. 2 is embodied in FIG. 6 as the combination of asignalling link 21 and communications trunks 22. Switch S1 ispre-programmed to route all or a subset of subscriber 1's actualcommunications themselves to a control point 20; the control point canthen be embodied as a telephone exchange such as the Nortel DMS range orthe Ericsson AXE range for example. The trunks 22 may be necessary, asin current signalling practice a communications channel is reserved atcontrol point 20 as part of the call set-up phase. Upon receipt of acall attempt from or to subscriber 10, switch S1 attempts to set up acall to control point 20, and reserves a communication channel fromcommunications trunks 22 for the call it is attempting to set up to thecontrol point 20. Control point 20 then, however, drops the call back ordeflects the call back to switch S1 together with the onward routinginstructions that would be recognised by switch S1 as part of itspre-programming, and as part of this process the reserved communicationschannel would be released. Switch S1 then onward routes the callaccording to the processed control signals returned by control point 20.This embodiment is less network-efficient as it involves the reservingof at least one channel that will not be used in the call route, but hasthe advantage of being able to be implemented without the installationof full IN facilities. Where Signalling System No. 7 is used as thesignalling protocol, the call drop-back function as outlined in somestandards or implementations of Signalling System No. 7 may be used, andwhere ISDN signalling is used, the ISDN call deflection supplementaryfunction may be used.

In an alternative embodiment that can also be illustrated with FIG. 6,the physical embodiment is identical, with the exception that the trunks22 between switch S1 and the controller 20 are not used or required, andwhere S1 has additional software loaded to recognise triggers and launchappropriate signalling messages. Although in this embodiment switch S1will have the same type of capabilities as a Service Switching Point, aswill be outlined below, the full AIN/IN operations and information flowswill not be used. The call signal routing processor could again be a PBXor telephone exchange such as the Nortel DMS range or the Ericsson AXErange. In this embodiment, the communication control signals will use asignalling system such as Signalling System No. 7 or ISDN, or acombination of such signalling systems with appropriate translationmechanisms at either or both ends of signalling link 21 or at some pointin the signalling path (not shown) of signalling link 21. Referring tothe method of operation; it is possible with some signallingimplementations for switch S1 to be programmed upon activation of atrigger to send a raw TCAP query message carried over SCCP (SignallingConnection Control Part), instead of using as in IN implementations theIN Application Part (INAP) that sits above TCAP in the Signalling SystemNo. 7 protocol stack. Such a signalling message will still invoke anaction at the controller 20 such as the activation of a stored programmethat calculates the lowest cost carrier/route (such switches asmentioned above have the capability to do these calculations), and thecontroller will as part of the stored programme, send a message inreturn, but neither message will use specifically IN-relatedoperations/information flows. A stored programme in switch S1 will beactivated to re-route the call, the routing information having beensupplied in the return message from the controller 20, and the call willbe rerouted accordingly. By these means, standard telephone switchingcapability and signalling can be used, and in this embodiment there isno need to reserve communication channels between the switch S1 and thecontroller 20. TCAP does not have to be the protocol used over link S1;for certain services such as ‘Message Waiting Indicator’, a mappingbetween the necessary TCAP signalling and ISDN signalling has beenderived by ETSI; this approach is also possible for other services suchas the routing services as described in the embodiments thus far, and amapping between TCAP and ISDN signalling derived for these specificservice types. This will have the advantage of being able to use anISDN-capable PBX as the control point with a User-Network Interfacerather than a Network-Network Interface. This last approach does howeverrely on the switch S1 having capability to support the ISDN interface aswell as the Signalling System No. 7 interface, as the execution of themapping on a call-by-call basis will take place at switch S1.

An additional embodiment also relating to FIG. 6 involves (and as usedin the full intelligent network implementations described with referenceto FIG. 3 and FIG. 4) the use of IN triggers and INAP queries over TCAP(or the AIN equivalent) within network 30, and the transmission of theseover signalling link 21, but again using mapping of the INAP queries toISDN signals at the controller 20, (the controller switch 20 requiringboth Signalling System No. 7 and ISDN interfaces,) and then processingthe ISDN signals at the controller 20 for a least-cost routingdetermination, before mapping the return signal back into theappropriate INAP/TCAP message and sending it back to switch S1, whichmust then be embodied as a full Service Switching Point.

FIG. 7 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention whichalso comprises an intelligent network. This figure contains elementsthat operate in a similar fashion to FIG. 3. The numbering is consistentfor ease of reference, and in the description of the items in thisdiagram that follows, the differences between the main elements arehighlighted, and the description of previously described items has beenshortened. As in FIG. 3, a subscriber 1 is connected to one of aplurality of switches 2 which each comprise a telephone exchange withSSP functionality. Within the network 30 (which in this example acts asthe Home Originating Network) there is provided EMs 4, SMI 5, STP 7, FF8 and SCP 9. This network 30 is interconnected to transit networks 170and 190, which each contain switching means, and terminating network 70containing a plurality of switches 72, one of which is connected tosubscriber 71 via an exchange line. This home network is the same infunction to the network 30 shown in FIG. 3, however, there is anadditional network element, Intelligent Peripheral (IP) 3. The primaryfunction of an IP is to act as a subscriber interaction device, whosefunction is to interact usually with the calling subscriber, playannouncements, and collect subscriber responses in the form of dialleddigits/characters and sometimes speech recognition. Separate to thenetwork 30 there is a controller's network 150 in which is provided acontroller embodied as an Integrated Services Control Point (ISCP) 15which contains an SCP 12, a database 13, a Service Management System 14,and a STP 11. Also in the controller's network 150 there is provide aService Switching Point (SSP) 16 and an Intelligent Peripheral (IP) 17.As before, the filter/firewall functions inside the ISCP controller 15(functions used for validation and/or authentication of signals fromnetworks 30 or 140) are in this example embodied variously in the STP 11and the SCP 12, although separate embodiments of these functions arepossible.

The SCP 12 is also provided with directions from a director (which cancomprise at least a user, a subscriber, a service provider, and acommunications network operator—not shown) and these are entered intothe subscriber (service) management system (SMS) 14. The subscriber(service) management system 14 is connected over an X.25 link to aservice management interface (SMI) 5 within the originating network 30and the service management interface (SMI) 5 is in turn connected overan X.25 link to network element managers (EM) 4. The element managers 4are connected over X.25 links to the switches 2 in order to update theprogrammes and trigger points therein. As before, it will be apparent tothose skilled in the art that such programming is also possible by meansof the SSP switch 2 and the SCP 12 establishing a TCAP dialogue via theSTP 7 and FF 8 and service trigger information being downloaded into SSPswitch 2 again via STP7 and FF 8. Also noted in this figure is visitedoriginating network 140, containing a plurality of switches 42, and toone of such switches is connected subscriber 41 via an exchange line.Network 140 contains an IP 43, EMs 44, a SMI 45, STP 47, FF 48 and SCP49. This network is also connected to controller's network 150, butindirectly, via transit signalling networks 220 containing STPs 240.STPs 240 could be international gateway STPs whose function is to routesignalling messages and also to convert different nationalimplementations of Signalling System No. 7 into ITU standard SignallingSystem No. 7 signalling messages. Network 140 is interconnected withterminating network 160, which contains a plurality of switches 162, onesuch being connected to subscriber 161 via an exchange line. Network 140is also interconnected with transit networks 180 and 200, each of whichare in turn interconnected with terminating network 160. Signallingtransit networks 220 are only required if there is no direct signallinglink between network 140 and network 150, and may be embodied asspecialised Signalling System No. 7 networks, or may be embodied as partof conventional transit networks 260.

If subscriber 1 moves away temporarily from the location to which theirexchange line is connected, to the same physical location to which thesubscriber 41's exchange line is connected, and that they wish to usetheir subscription to service provider 50's services whilst guesting atsubscriber 41's exchange line (connected to the visited originatingnetwork 140), before they move, they direct the activation of a servicewith their service provider (who in this case acts as the controllerunder the direction of subscriber 1) 150 with the function ‘divert allincoming calls to voice-mail until further notice’. Subscriber 41 allowstheir exchange line and handset to be used by subscriber 1 as a guest.Subscriber 1 ‘guesting’ on subscriber 41's exchange line is shown onthis figure as guest subscriber 1′, although they are one and the samesubscriber using the same subscription to service provider 150.

The operation of the services to enable guesting, the services whilstguesting takes place, and the services when guesting finishes will nowbe described in detail. The process is one of the more complexapplications of intelligent network architecture. Subscriber 1, uponvisiting at subscriber 41's exchange line, becomes subscriber 1′. Uponpicking up subscriber 41's handset, subscriber 1′ receives subscriber41's dial-tone, and dials a telephone number provided by serviceprovider 150 for the purpose of remote registration and deregistration;this number terminates on the service provider's switch 16, and a normalcall is placed to this number from subscriber 41's line, and is switchedby subscriber 41's local switch 42, through the visited originatingnetwork 140, into any transit network 260 selected by the same or otherswitching means 42 in carrier 140, and onward through any other transitnetwork 260 selected by the first transit network, and so on, untilswitch 16 is reached, using normal call set-up procedures welldocumented in the prior art. Switch 16 has been preprogrammed such thatall calls received at the remote access registration number activate anAIN trigger; the incoming call activates the trigger and a TCAP query issent to SCP 12, which sends a return signal back to the SSP 16 with aninstruction to connect the call to IP 17, and SCP 12 also sends aninstruction to IP 17 to activate a specific subscriber interactionprogramme that has been pre-programmed into IP 17. This then plays voiceprompts to subscriber 1′ and collects dialled digit information; let usdefine the information thus collected from subscriber 1′ as ‘subscriberlocation registration information’ (SLRI). The SLRI will include theaccount number and PIN of subscriber 1′, and the calling line identity(CLI) of subscriber 41's exchange line (which if not receivedautomatically through the networks will be prompted for), and any otherinformation, such as the duration and type of the registration, that isrequired by the specific implementation within ISCP 15. IP 17 then sendsthe SLRI to SCP 12, which processes the SLRI. Upon successful processingof the SLRI, SCP 12 instructs IP 17 to activate another subscriberinteraction programme for the purpose of selecting the services and/orservice options (and/or priority levels over subscriber 41's services)to be provided to subscriber 1′ on subscriber 41's line. IP 17 thencollects further dialled digit information; let us define this newinformation thus collected from subscriber 1′ as ‘communications controlprogramming information’ (CCPI). The IP 17 then sends this CCPI to SCP12 for processing; SCP 12 the processes the CCPI, and uses the processedSLRI to correctly address and send both processed CCPI and processedSLRI to switch 42 in carrier 140 via STPs 240 in signalling transitnetworks 220, STP 47 and FF48 (as well as using this information toalter the programming within SCP 12 such that subsequent processing ofcommunications control signals associated with calls to and fromsubscriber 1′ is changed accordingly). The processed SLRI and CCPItogether contain the service trigger information which upon reachingswitch 42 pre-programmes it such that services on the subscriptionsubscriber I′ has with service provider 150 can be accessed throughsubscriber 41's line, selects the services that can be so accessed, andsets the parameters and options within the selected services. The SCP 12may also send processed SLRI and processed CCPI to switch 2 in the homeoriginating network to which subscriber 1 is connected; moreover,recordings made by the subscriber 1′ during interactions with IP 17 maybe used to update information contained in subscriber interactionprogrammes within IP 17 (such as voice-mail greetings). The informationthus downloaded into switches 42 and 2 is stored in special storageareas within each switch to be used for such storage of temporaryinformation, such that the pre-existing programming within each switchis not overwritten. (In this implementation of remote registration, theservice trigger information has been downloaded from SCP 12, but inalternative implementations the SMS 14 could be used to downloadprocessed SLRI and processed CCPI to the correct switch 42 via SMI 45and one of the EMs 44.) Subscriber 1′ is then played a message toindicate that the services are now set up and that they should replacetheir handset; the IP 17 then sends a signal to SCP 12 that thesubscriber interaction programme is complete, SCP 12 sends aninstruction to the SSP 16 to disconnect the call from the IP 17, and thecall from subscriber 41's line is tom down. Should subscriber 1′ wish tomake any change to their registration status or their selected serviceswhilst guesting, they may now dial a special short code access numberthat has been preprogrammed into switch 42 as part of the processedSLRI, and this will re-connect them with IP 17 via switch 2 transitnetworks 260 and switch 16, at the same time passing a message to SCP 12identifying the remotely registered subscriber 1′ and activating a thirdsubscriber interaction programme which plays a personalised welcomemessage and prompts for modified SLRI or modified CCPI. As before, thecollected information is processed at SCP 12, and modifies thesubsequent processing of communication control signals and may sendmodified processed SLRI and/or CCPI for loading into switch 42 (and maysend further SLRI and/or CCPI into switch 2 in carrier network 30). Letus now assume that two services and one prioritisation were selected bysubscriber 1′:—

-   (a) A least-cost outgoing call service.-   (b) All incoming calls destined for subscriber 1′ to be announced on    subscriber 41's telephone with a distinctive ringing tone, and    diverted on busy or upon no answer for 6 ring cycles to voice-mail    system operated by service provider 150 (which in this case is    provided by SSP 16 and IP 17).-   (c) No change made to subscriber 41's incoming calls.

Let us further assume that subscriber 41 has previously set up avoice-mail service with carrier 41 such that all incoming calls destinedfor subscriber 41 are diverted to carrier 140's voice-mail system uponbusy and upon no answer for 6 ring cycles. Carrier 140's voice-mailsystem is implemented by IP 43. For ease of illustration, let us alsoassume the availability of end-to-end ISUP (IDSN User Part) signallingfor call set-up and tear down through the composite network consistingof networks 30 70 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 and networks 260.

For an outgoing call from subscriber 1′ on subscriber 41's line, aftersubscriber 1's goes off-hook on subscriber 41's line, and thepre-requisite number of digits has been collected, switch 2 sends a TCAPquery message to ISCP IS via STP 47 and STPs 240. ISCP 15 validates andauthenticates the message in its STP 11 and SCP 12. Processing of thequery message is carried out in SCP 12 to determine the lowest costcarrier and route, optionally using data in database 13, (this timeusing information on communications costs relating to networks 140 160180 and 200) and a TCAP response message containing routing instructionsfor switch 2 is generated by SCP 12. This response message is then sentvia STPs (11, 240 and 47) and FF 48, to switch 2, which then receivesthe response message, decodes it, and executes the routing instructioncontained in the response message. The call is thus routed according tothe lowest cost carrier and/or route.

For an incoming call destined for subscriber 1′ from subscriber 6, theswitch 2 connected to the exchange line of subscriber 1 receives thecall attempt from subscriber 6. An AIN trigger is activated and a queryis sent by switch 2 to ISCP 15 via STP 7. The programming in SCP 12having now been modified by the processed SLRI and CCPI, ISCP 15 nowsends a message via STP 7 and FF 8, to the switch 2 connected to theexchange line of subscriber 1; the call is then optionally dropped backto another specified switch 2 (see drop-back examples in reference toFIG. 4) and re-routed to subscriber 1′ guesting at subscriber 41's linein carrier 140, again using information on communications costsassociated with networks 30 140 and networks 260 to determine whichcombination of transit networks 260 should be used for the re-routing ofthe call from subscriber 6. The response message is sent to and receivedat switch 2 via STP 7 and FF 8, and the routing instruction is carriedout by switch 2. ISCP 15 thus retains control of the call until suchtime as the call is completed. Subscriber 1′ hears the distinctiveringing tone at subscriber 41's telephone, and answers the call. Werethe call to be unanswered for more than 6 ring cycles, or weresubscriber 41's line busy with another incoming call or outgoing callassociated with subscriber 1′ or an incoming call associated withsubscriber 41, the AIN triggers in switch 42 loaded as part of theprocessed SLRI/CCPI would be activated and send a further query to ISCP15, which would send a return message to the specified switch 2 and/orswitch 42 to drop back and re-route the call from the specified switch 2to SSP 16 and thence to IP 17. ISCP 15 would also send a message to IP17 to activate the voice mail subscriber interaction programme. The callwould thus be completed.

In the roaming scenario, drop-back becomes even more relevant, as it ispossible for three countries to be involved; the incoming calling partycould be located in a different country from the home location of thecalled party, and the called party could be guesting at anothersubscriber's line in a third country.

To deregister from subscriber 42's line and restore specified servicesto the exchange line of subscriber 1, subscriber I′ dials the shortaccess code, follows the voice prompts to have subscriber locationderegistration information (SLDI) collected followed by any desiredchanges to CCPI, and as a result, processed SLDI is sent to switch 42,and processed SLDI/CCPI is sent to switch 2. The processed SLDI deletesthe programming from the special storage area in switch 42 whichautomatically re-instates any pre-existing programming. The processedSLDI/CCPI is sent to switch 2 and deletes the programming from thespecial storage area in switch 2 which automatically re-instates anypre-existing programming, and then modifies the pre-existing programmingin accordance with the processed CCPI. (In practice this would probablybe done in one operation.)

If subscriber 1 instead of guesting at subscriber 41's line was to guestat subscriber 6's line (ie intra-network guesting), network 30 would beboth the Home Originating Network and the Visiting Network and it willbe apparent to those skilled in the art how the above examples inrelation to this FIG. 7 could be reworked. Similarly it is possible thatsubscriber 6's line is connected to the same local exchange switch 2,and similar reworking will show how this could operate according to thesame principles of lowest cost routing.

The registration and deregistration process could be likened inprinciple to Home Location Register and Visiting Location Registerinteractions in a GSM roaming architecture. A more complex version ofthis first set of examples would be involved if an agreement werereached between carrier 140 and service provider 150 such that serviceprovider 150 was able to use IP 43 in place of IP 17 for collection ofSLRI, CCPI and SLDI; this would mean that specialised resource data suchas subscriber interaction programming information could be downloadedand available for activation locally, local storage of voicemailsgreetings and messages may be facilitated, and other customisedannouncements may also be made more efficient. Similar mechanisms wouldbe invoked for updating modification and deletion of ‘guest-sessionspecific’ data and ‘service specific’ data, and the validation andauthentication functions may as a consequence need to be extended tocover this special resource data. Detailed examples of the processesinvolved in these examples are not considered necessary as the examplesare not of primary importance.

Where subscriber 41 now wishes to contract for service with serviceprovider 150, the steps would run as follows:—Subscriber 41 dials aservice provisioning access number provided by service provider 150.This number terminates on the service provider's switch 16, and a normalcall is placed to this number from subscriber 41's line, and is switchedby subscriber 41's local switch 42, through the visited originatingnetwork 140, into any transit network 260 selected by the same or otherswitching means 42 in carrier 140, and onward through any other transitnetwork 260 selected by the first transit network, and so on, untilswitch 16 is reached, using normal call set-up procedures. Switch 16 hasbeen preprogrammed such that all calls received at the serviceprovisioning access number activate an AIN trigger; the incoming callactivates the trigger and a TCAP query is sent to SCP 12, which sends areturn signal back to the SSP 16 with an instruction to connect the callto IP 17, and SCP 12 also sends an instruction to IP 17 to activate aspecific subscriber interaction programme that has been pre-programmedinto IP 17. This then plays voice prompts to subscriber 41 and collectsdialled digit information; let us define the information thus collectedfrom subscriber 41 as ‘subscriber provisioning information’ (SPI). TheSPI may include the mailing and billing details of the subscriber 41,and account number and PIN of subscriber 1′, and the calling lineidentity (CLI) of subscriber 41's exchange line (which if not receivedautomatically through the networks will be prompted for), and any otherinformation, such as the type of subscription requested. IP 17 thensends the SPI to SCP 12, which processes the SPI. Upon successfulprocessing of the SPI, SCP 12 instructs IP 17 to activate anothersubscriber interaction programme for the purpose of selecting theservices and/or service options to be provided to subscriber 41. The IP17 then collects further dialled digit information; this new informationthus collected from subscriber 41 is CCPI related to subscriber 41. TheIP 17 then sends this CCPI to SCP 12 for processing; SCP 12 thenprocesses the CCPI, and then signals to IP 17 to close the call,transferring the processed CCPI and SPI to the SMS 14. A fax or mailingis prepared and sent to subscriber 1 to authorise and authenticate theapplication. When the response form is received and authorised, amessage is sent to the subscriber 41 with an alert indicator such as acustom dialling tone or perhaps a customised temporary announcementloaded into switch 42, to alert the subscriber to call the ISCP to enterfurther CCPI to activate the services. The interaction runs alongsimilar lines, and on completion uses the processed SPI to correctlyaddress and send the processed CCPI and processed SPI to switch 42 incarrier 140 via STPs 240 in signalling transit networks 220, STP 47 andFF48 (as well as using this information to alter the programming withinSCP 12 such that subsequent processing of communications control signalsassociated with calls to and from subscriber 41 is changed accordingly).The processed SPI and CCPI together contain the service triggerinformation which upon reaching switch 42 pre-programmes it such thatservices on subscriber 41's subscription with service provider 150 canbe accessed, selects the services that can be so accessed, and sets theparameters and options within the selected services. As before,recordings made by the subscriber 41 during interactions with IP 17 maybe used to update information contained in subscriber interactionprogrammes within IP 17 (such as voice-mail greetings). The informationthus downloaded into switch 42 may be stored in a special storage areawithin the switch to be used for such storage of secondary information,such that the pre-existing switch programming is not overwritten. Asbefore, the service trigger information has been downloaded from SCP 12,but in alternative implementations the SMS 14 could be used to downloadprocessed SPI and processed CCPI to the correct switch 42 via SMI 45 andone of the EMs 44.) Should subscriber 41 wish to make any change totheir service profile, they may now dial a special short code accessnumber that has been preprogrammed into switch 42 as part of theprocessed SPI, and this will re-connect them with IP 17 via switch 2transit networks 260 and switch 16, at the same time passing a messageto SCP 12 identifying the subscriber 41 and activating anothersubscriber interaction programme which upon collecting the accountnumber and PIN may play a personalised welcome message and prompt thesubscriber 41 for modified CCPI. As before, the collected information isprocessed at SCP 12, and modifies the subsequent processing ofcommunication control signals and may send modified processed CCPI forloading into switch 42.

An alternative embodiment can be derived for modifying CCPI such thatwhen certain types of CCPI are requested, that these CCPI types aregenerated and processed directly at the local exchange 42 of thesubscriber 41. This may necessitate more complex initial programming tobe downloaded as part of the processed SPI, however this approach allowssome service parameters and options to be altered at the local exchangewithout having to alter programming in the ISCP 15 and withoutsubsequent redelivery or updating of processed CCPI from the ISCP 15 tothe local switch 42; by subscriber 41 dialling a series of digits toinvoke CLASS type features, the relevant parameters can be set withinthe switch 42. This type of service can usually be delivered by usingthe primitive announcement and digit collection capabilities availablein most local exchange switches such as the Ericsson AXE 10 range andthe GPT System X range. In these instances a subscriber will also wantto have the means of using the ISCP 15 to alter the CLASS enabledparameters in their local exchange when guesting.

In the following examples of the interworking of control means, it willbe apparent to those skilled in the art that such interworking functionsmay be gainfully employed in a ‘guesting’ or roaming scenario, and byinterspersing these with global numbering, more elegant call processingwill generally be possible, involving implementations are more efficienton the use of both signalling and network facilities.

FIG. 8 illustrates another intelligent network embodiment, which is usedto describe further examples of application. In this figure, elementswith the same numbers as FIG. 4 have the same functions here, and theadditional elements of the drawing are now as follows; carrier 120 fromFIG. 4 have not been included here and thus carrier 60 is connecteddirectly with carrier 30. Service Provider 550 is shown; this has thecapability of operating in a similar manner to carrier 150. It has anISCP 515, connected via Signalling System No. 7 data links to ISCP 15 atSTP 11, and to carrier 50's network at STP 57. Also shown is a pluralityof transit carriers 1000, combinations of which can interconnect carrier30 with carrier 50, and global number database 750, connected to ISCP 15and ISCP 515 by means of Signalling System No. 7 data links. The firstset of embodiments described with reference to FIG. 8 show possiblemethods of interaction between the control means embodied in ISCP 15 andthe switching means embodied in SSP switch 2 in the network beingcontrolled 30. In the first such embodiment, rather than each query innetwork 30 being directed to ISCP 15, the controller network 150 and theoriginating network 30 may reach a commercial agreement for a subset ofthe data and programming held in ISCP 15 to be held variously in SCP 9,SMI 5, STP 7 and a database (not shown) linked to SCP 9, which in somecombination can form similar control means to those employed by serviceprovider network 150; this second controller then acts under theeffective directions or instructions of the ISCP 15. (Here, SMI 5 alsodoubles as an SMS function within carrier 30; although this could ofcourse be embodied separately.) An example of how this could operatewill now be considered. Presuming that at least network 30 is a majornational network, with some hundreds of local exchange switches, indispersed geographical areas, and that standard prices for element-basedinterconnect costs are available from this carrier 30 based to a degreeon the distance from the originating point in the carrier network 30 tothe point of interconnection, and also presuming that carrier 50 has afew tens of interconnect points with carrier 30, and that carrier 60 hasa different geographical spread of points of interconnect with carrier30, information on communication costs related to carriers 30, 50, 60and 70 is stored at ISCP 15. It can be readily seen that this costinformation will form a multi-dimensional table showing the costs ofrouting, via each possible carrier and/or route, call minutes from eachswitch 2 in carrier 30 to each other switch 2 in carrier 30, and to eachswitch 72 in destination network 70. (This then includes, as well ascalls from network 30 to network 70, the possibility of transitdelivery, via networks 50 or 60, of calls originating from subscribersconnected to one switch 2 in carrier 30 and destined for subscribersconnected to another switch 2 in carrier 30.) If it is assumed that thisinformation on costs is processed from time to time in ISCP 15 toproduce a subset of this information which will containing amulti-dimensional routing table showing the various preferred andalternative carriers and routings that represent the least cost for theoriginating and terminating combinations as described above. Theseselected primary and secondary carriers and routes for the differentcombinations of originating and destination exchanges can then be usedin conjunction with the calling party number and the called party numberto select the lowest cost and the next lowest cost carrier and/or route.This carrier and route information thus constitutes a set ofinstructions for routing calls depending on the calling party and calledparty addresses. Let us now presume that the controller network 150 andthe originating network 30 may reach a commercial agreement for this setof ‘global’ instructions for processing of calls to be operated withinthe SCP 9 of carrier 30, and for updates to these instructions to bepassed to SCP 9 by ISCP 15. The two variations of this embodiment are,firstly, that carrier 150 passes across solely the global routinginstructions that it has generated by pre-processing, and secondly, thatin addition, carrier 150 passes across the necessary service logic orcode needed for the call-by-call processing. The subscriber 1 would setup and configure the services in a manner similar to that described inthe other examples, provisioning and modifying services via ISCP 15, butthe processing for the call-by-call selection of carriers and/or routescan now be effected by SCP 9 which now receives call-by-call queriesfrom switch 2 and returns the responses. As before, the SCP 9 cancollect billing data, and can pass the data across to ISCP 15 either ona call-by-call basis or alternatively on a batch basis. The servicelogic for executing the processing therefore operates within Carrier30's network, but effectively operates under the control of Carrier 150.By these means, call-by-call internetwork signalling traffic can bereduced whilst still retaining control by Carrier 150.

In an alternative embodiment, the SCP 9 may be used as a ‘directingfilter’, such that queries emanating from switches 2 are directed firstto SCP 9, which executes some logic to validate the query messages, andthen relays the processed queries to ISCP 15 via STPs 47 and 240. Thereturn responses from ISCP 15 are also passed via STPs 240 and 47through SCP 9, which in turn directs each response back to the switch 2from which the query originated. In this example, the ISCP 15 does nothave to address or be addressed by carrier 30's SSP's directly,automatically improving network security for carrier 30. Carrier 30'sSCP 9 in this embodiment can act as a two-way firewall and filter, whichmay replace these functions in FF 8.

As a further alternative, the service logic is held at SCP 9, which on acall-by-call basis receives queries from a switch 2, and SCP 9 uses ISCP15 as an external database to return the carrier and/or route selectioninformation data to SCP 9.

These alternative embodiments equally well apply to the interactionsbetween ISCP 15 and any network to which ISCP 15 sends and from whichISCP 15 receives signalling messages, queries or responses. All theabove embodiments are possible for routing control of outgoing calls andfor redirection of incoming calls routed from switch 2, as this iseffectively the same as invoking a new outgoing call from switch 2. Forredirection of incoming calls with drop back (as outlined in theexamples described with reference to FIG. 4), the first embodiment ofsupplying pre-processed routing instruction will not work in isolation,as it is unlikely that in a practical implementation, sufficient costdata would be maintained within any single SCP to cover all the possiblerouting permutations from any origination point to any destinationpoint. Other mechanisms for referral to external databases or SCPs willneed to be used in practical implementations, and examples of these willnow be given with reference to FIG. 8.

The next description shows a possible way the two ISCPs 15, 515 couldinteract in the delivery of an international incoming call drop-backscenario. For this example, let us assume networks 30 and 150 aresituated in country A, service provider 550 and network 50 are incountry B, and network 60 is in country C, and that end-to-end ISUP typesignalling is possible. Let us further assume that subscriber 51 hasactivated a least-cost outgoing call routing service with serviceprovider 550, and that subscriber 1 has activated a least cost incomingcall diversion service with an international drop back option selectedand has set the parameters of this service such that incoming calls arediverted to subscriber 61. To illustrate the interworking of theservices, let us follow the progress of an incoming call from subscriber51, who dials subscriber 1's telephone number. Switch 52 is triggered, aquery sent to ISCP 515, which processes the query, and sends back arouting instruction to switch 52 with a carrier and/or route selectionfor switch 52, which then routes the call directly or via the selectedcarrier from transit carriers 1000, to switch 2 in carrier 30. Theaddress of subscriber 51's IN service provider's ISCP 515 has beeninserted into part of the call set-up signalling from switch 52. Switch2 is triggered by the call attempt, queries ISCP 15, inserting ISCP515's address into the query. ISCP 15 then launches a query to ISCP 515to request routing information for the call to the new number ofsubscriber 61 (ISCP 15 does not carry data for outgoing call routingcosts from country B.) ISCP 515 returns the data to ISCP 15, which sendsa response back to switch 2, containing a drop-back instruction to dropthe call back to switch 52 together with the new destination number androuting instructions. Switch 52 then reroutes the call as per theinstructions provided by its own service provider, but requested viaswitch 2 and ISCP 15.

In another example, where a global number is used, and global numberdatabase 750 contains the global number, and the address of the INservice provider associated with the subscriber to the number. Thistime, subscriber 52 dials the global number of subscriber 51, and thistime the query to ISCP 515 identifies by this global number that asecond query has to be made to the global number database 750. Thissecond query is launched, and the address of ISCP 15 is returned as theservice provider associated with this particular global number. The ISCP515 then launches a query to ISCP 15 to determine the actual terminationnumber, and this is then returned to ISCP 515. ISCP 515 then processesthe information and provides back in a response message to switch 52 therouting information for delivery of the call to subscriber 61, andswitch 2 then dials the number.

Alternative scenarios may be derived by those skilled in the art formore complex services, for example where a subscriber to serviceprovider 150's services may call a subscriber to the other serviceprovider 550 and the IN interworking used to resolve service conflicts;alternatively the subscriber to carrier 150's services may request or berequested by a subscriber to service provider 550 to join an existingcall to another party such as subscriber 71. For these purposes, thecontrol means may interact with each other at the start of a call,during a call, at the start or end of other connections to the samecall, or at the end of a call. Where multiple points of control exist,the selection of carriers as a function of cost is always carried outexternally to the originating carrier network, even though parametersassociated with other aspects of the processing or choosing serviceoptions may be stored in and altered within the originating carriernetwork. Some of the more complex embodiments and the examples of theiruse covered in the references to FIGS. 4, 7 and 8 will necessitate themore complex handling of billing information, with billing informationtransferring between carriers involved in a call, billing advice beingrequested and/or charging instructions in communications control signalsat the start and/or end of a call, billing rates being supplied at thestart or end of a call, and billing information or toll tickets andcharging information being transferred between carriers and/or to thecontrol point at the end of a call.

The processes described in these embodiments are for illustrativepurposes, and will vary according to the implementation, however theyserve to illustrate the principles involved in and associated with thepresent invention.

As can be seen from the foregoing embodiments the present inventionprovides the subscriber with the ability to have both outgoing andincoming calls processed to provide least cost or cost-based routing ofcalls over a plurality of carrier networks. This allows the customerincreased choice in the selection of their carriers particularservice/cost offering and would also allow for competition at the levelof providing services. This will allow the consumer greater choice,lower cost and better services.

Although the present invention has been described hereinabove withreference to embodiments, it would be clear to a skilled person in theart that modifications are possible within the spirit and scope of thepresent invention.

1. A method of routing communications from and/or to a subscriberconnected to an originating carrier, via a combination of communicationscarriers selected from a plurality of possible communications carriers,the method comprising the steps of: receiving communications controlsignals associated with outgoing and/or incoming communications, fromone or more communications switching means at one or more control means,at least one of which is external to said originating carrier;processing said communications control signals at said control means independence upon third party directions, using information comprisinginformation associated with the communications services of eachcommunications carrier of said plurality of possible communicationscarriers and possible combinations thereof, to select a combination ofcommunications carriers for routing communications based on saidinformation, and to generate processed communications control signalsfor routing of the communication via said combination of communicationscarriers in accordance with the selection; returning the processedcommunication control signals to said communications switching means;and switching the communications from and/or to the subscriber, toeffect said routing of the communications via said selected combinationof communications carriers in accordance with the processedcommunications control signals.
 2. A method according to claim 1,wherein said processing step includes processing said communicationscontrol signals at respective ones of said more than one control meansto select a respective communications carrier, thereby selecting saidcombination of communications carriers.
 3. A method according to claim1, wherein said information comprises information relating to at leastone of the following: cost, service offering, route congestion, possibleroutes between said communications carriers and other possiblecommunications carriers of said plurality of possible communicationscarriers, routing chain information/communications path information,points of interconnection, originating and/or destination lineinformation, originating and/or terminating exchange information,calling party number, calling party address, called party number, calledparty address, subscriber and/or user location information, time of day,directions from a director.
 4. A method according to claim 3, whereinsaid communications switching means in said receiving step comprisescommunications switching means in said originating carrier.
 5. A methodaccording to claim 1, wherein said communications switching means insaid receiving step comprises communications switching means in a one ofsaid selected combination of communications carriers other than saidoriginating carrier.
 6. A method according to claim 1, wherein saidprocessing step includes the step of selecting a route in at least oneof the possible communications carriers for routing said communicationto a destination.
 7. A method according to claim 1, wherein said controlmeans includes routing translation information for translatinginformation in said communication control signals into routing dataincluded in said processed communications control signals.
 8. A methodaccording to claim 1, wherein said processing step includes the steps ofselecting an alternative combination of communications carriers and ofgenerating alternative processed communications control signals foralternative routing of said communications, for use when saidcommunications cannot be routed using the initially generated processedcommunications control signals.
 9. A method according to claim 8,wherein said method includes receiving at said control means anindication that said communications cannot be routed using the initiallygenerated processed communications control signals and wherein saidalternative processed communications control signals are generated inresponse to said indication.
 10. A method according to claim 8, whereinsaid processing step includes the step of selecting an alternativecombination of communications carriers for routing of saidcommunications and including alternative information on said alternativerouting in the first or subsequent generated processed communicationscontrol signals.
 11. A method according to claim 1, wherein saidprocessing step includes the step of selecting the combination ofcommunication carriers that incurs the lowest cost for routing saidcommunications to said destination.
 12. A method according to claim 11,wherein said processing step includes the step of selecting analternative combination of communications carriers that incurs the nextlowest cost to a previously selected combination of communicationscarriers for routing said communications when said communications cannotbe routed using the initially generated processed communications controlsignals.
 13. A method according to claim 1, including the step of athird party connecting with said control means, for providing said thirdparty directions, causing communications control programming informationto be received at said control means to set up or modify the processingof communications control signals to be performed by said control means.14. A method according to claim 13, including the step of the operatorof said control means setting up or modifying the processing to beperformed thereby in dependence upon the directions from said thirdparty.
 15. A method according to claim 13, including the step ofprocessing said communications control programming information independence on directions from the said third party, generating processedcommunications control programming information and causing saidprocessed communications control programming information to be receivedat said communications switching means, causing in turn the programmingor reprogramming of said communications switching means.
 16. A methodaccording to claim 13, wherein said third party comprises at least oneof a user, a subscriber, a communications service provider and acommunications network operator/carrier.
 17. A method according to claim1, wherein the step of receiving said communications control signalscomprises the step of receiving at said control means, communicationscontrol signals associated with all outgoing and incoming communicationsfrom and/or to said subscriber.
 18. A method according to claim 1,including the steps of programming said communications switching meansto identify those communications to be processed by said control means;at the communications switching means, identifying said communicationsto be processed by said control means and directing communicationscontrol signals for any identified communications to said control means.19. A method according to claim 1, wherein said step of processing saidcommunications control signals by one of said control means includes thestep of referring to one or more databases external to said controlmeans.
 20. A method according to claim 1, wherein said step ofprocessing said communications control signals by said control meansincludes the step of referring to a database external to the saidoriginating carrier containing routing and cost information relating tosaid possible communications carriers.
 21. A method according to claim1, including the step of validating and/or authenticating signals passedbetween said communications switching means and said control means. 22.A method according to claim 1, wherein a one of said switching meansoperates as a service switching point and/or said control means includesa service control point.
 23. A method according to claim 1, wherein saidcommunications control signals comprise Signalling System No 7(SS7/CCS7) signals and/or ISDN signals.
 24. A method according to claim1, wherein a one of said control means communicates with and/orinterworks with other like control means to provide multiple points ofcontrol associated with said communications.
 25. A method according toclaim 1, wherein a one of said control means and/or other like controlmeans retains control of or an influence over said communications and/orinformation associated therewith and can carry out further processingupon receipt of further communications control signals.
 26. A methodaccording to claim 1, including the step of controlling the passage ofbilling information to billing means for the billing of saidcommunications.
 27. A method according to claim 26, wherein said billinginformation is directed to said control means and/or is used at saidcontrol means to validate and/or adjust information on communicationscosts at the said control means.
 28. A method according to claim 7,wherein said control means sends or causes to be sent processedcommunications control signals to communications switching means otherthan said one or more communications switching means.
 29. A methodaccording to claim 28, wherein said processed communications controlsignals when received at said other communications switching means causefurther communications control signals to be received at a one of saidcontrol means or at other like control means.
 30. A method according toclaim 29, wherein any of the said control means or other like controlmeans may be external or internal to any of the communications carriersassociated with said communications.
 31. A method according to claim 1,wherein the processed communications control signals returned to a oneof the communications switching means include control signals and/orrouting information for one or more of said selected combination ofcommunications carriers and/or instructions for said one of thecommunications switching means to pass on the said control signalsand/or routing information to said one or more of said selectedcombination of communications carriers, and where the method includesthe steps of: said one of the communications switching means sendingsaid control signals and/or routing information and/or like instructionsto other than said one of the communications switching means in at leastone of the said selected combination of communications carriers, whichthen route said communications in accordance with said control signalsand/or routing information, and where so-instructed, pass on controlsignals and/or routing information and/or other like instructions tocommunications switching means in subsequent carriers of the saidselected communications carriers.
 32. A method according to claim 1,wherein the processed communications control signals returned to a oneof the communications switching means include control signals and/orrouting information for one or more of said selected combination ofcommunications carriers and/or instructions for said one of thecommunications switching means to process and pass on said controlsignals and/or routing information to said one or more of said selectedcombination of communications carriers, and where the method includesthe steps of: said one of the communications switching means sendingsaid control signals and/or routing information and/or like instructionsto other than said one of the communications switching means in at leastone of the said selected combination of communications carriers, whichthen route said communications in accordance with said control signalsand/or routing information, and where so-instructed, process and pass oncontrol signals and/or routing information and/or pass other likeinstructions to communications switching means in subsequent carriers ofthe said selected communications carriers.
 33. A method according toclaim 31, wherein said one of the communications switching means sendssaid control signals and/or routing information and/or instructions toother communications switching means in at least one of the saidselected combination of communications carriers which then route saidcommunications in accordance with the said control signals and/orrouting information and where so-instructed process and pass on saidcontrol signals and/or routing information and/or pass other likeinstructions to communications switching means in subsequent carriers ofthe said selected communications carriers.
 34. A method according toclaim 32, wherein said one of the communications switching means sendssaid control signals and/or routing information and/or instructions toother communications switching means in at least one of the saidselected combination of communications carriers which then route saidcommunications in accordance with the said control signals and/orrouting information and where so-instructed pass on said control signalsand/or routing information and/or other like instructions tocommunications switching means in subsequent carriers of the saidselected communications carriers.
 35. A method according to claim 1,wherein a one of the said control means includes further switching meansand the communications switching means in addition to sendingcommunications control signals to the said one of the said control meansalso requests the routing of said communications to said furtherswitching means.
 36. A method according to claim 1, wherein thecommunications are routed by dropping back the communications to otherswitching means in said originating carrier or to any othercommunications switching means involved in the communications route fromwhich the rerouting of said communications is to take place.
 37. Amethod according to claim 24, wherein said and/or said other likecontrol means control the selection of part of the route in acommunications routing chain.
 38. A method according to claim 24,wherein said and/or said other like control means control the selectionof all carriers used in a communications routing chain thereby achievingend-to-end routing control.
 39. A communications control system forrouting communications from and/or to a subscriber connected to anoriginating carrier, via a combination of communications carriersselected from a plurality of possible communications carriers, thesystem being external to said originating carrier and comprising:receiving means for receiving communications control signals associatedwith outgoing and/or incoming communications from one or morecommunications switching means; processing means for processing saidcommunications control signals in dependence upon directions from athird party and using information comprising information associated withthe communications services of each of said plurality of possiblecommunications carriers and possible combinations thereof, to select acombination of communications carriers for routing communications basedon said information, and to generate processed communications controlsignals for routing the communications in accordance with the selection;and means for returning the processed communications control signals tosaid communications switching means to switch the communications fromand/or to the subscriber and route the communications via the selectedcombination of communications carriers in accordance with the processedcommunications control signals.
 40. A communications control systemaccording to claim 39, operable as one of a plurality of communicationscontrol systems in a communications network, wherein said processingmeans is adapted to process said communications control signals atrespective ones of said plurality of communications control systems toselect a respective communications carrier, thereby selecting saidcombination of communications carriers.
 41. A communications controlsystem according to claim 39, wherein said information comprisesinformation relating to at least one of the following: cost, serviceoffering, route congestion, possible routes between said communicationscarriers and other possible communications carriers of said plurality ofpossible communications carriers, routing chaininformation/communications path information, points of interconnection,originating and/or destination line information, originating and/orterminating exchange information, calling party number, calling partyaddress, called party number, called party address, subscriber and/oruser location information, time of day, directions from a director. 42.A communications control system according to claim 39, wherein saidcommunications switching means comprises communications switching meansin said originating carrier.
 43. A communications control systemaccording to claim 39, wherein said communications switching meanscomprises communications switching means in a one of said selectedcombination of communications carriers other than said originatingcarrier.
 44. A communications control system according to claim 39,wherein said processing means is adapted to select a route in any of thepossible communication carriers for routing communications to adestination.
 45. A communications control system according to claim 39,wherein said processing means is adapted to include routing translationinformation for translating information in said communication controlsignals into routing data included in said processed communicationcontrol signals.
 46. A communications control system according to claim39, wherein said processing means is adapted to generate alternativeprocessed communications control signals for routing communications foruse when the communications cannot be routed using initially generatedprocessed communication control signals.
 47. A communications controlsystem according to claim 46, wherein said receiving means is responsiveto an indication that said communications cannot be routed using theinitially generated processed communications control signals to generatesaid alternative processed communications control signals.
 48. Acommunications control system according to claim 46, wherein saidprocessing means is adapted to select an alternative carrier orcombination of carriers for routing said communications and include thealternative information on said routing in the first or subsequentgenerated processed communication control signals.
 49. A communicationscontrol system according to claim 39, wherein said processing meansincludes means for selecting the combination of communications carriersthat incurs the lowest cost for routing said communications.
 50. Acommunications control system according to claim 49, wherein saidprocessing means is adapted to select an alternative combination ofcommunications carriers that incurs the next lowest cost to a previouslyselected combination of communications carriers for routing saidcommunications when said communications cannot be routed using theinitially generated processed communications control signals.
 51. Acommunications control system according to claim 39, including setup ormodification means for setting up or modifying the processing to beperformed by said processing means in dependence upon the directionsfrom a third party.
 52. A communications control system according toclaim 51, including third party input means for inputting directions bysaid third party to said setup or modification means.
 53. Acommunications control system according to claim 51, adapted to processsaid communications control programming information in dependence ondirections from the said third party to generate processedcommunications control programming information and cause said processedcommunications control programming information to be received at saidcommunications switching means for programming or reprogramming of saidcommunications switching means.
 54. A communications control systemaccording to claim 39, wherein said receiving means is adapted toreceive from the switching means communications control signalsassociated with all outgoing and incoming communications from and/or tothe subscriber.
 55. A communications control system according to claim39, including means for programming said switching means to identifycommunications to be received by said receiving means for processing bysaid processing means.
 56. A communications control system according toclaim 39, including one or more databases external to said controlmeans.
 57. A communications control system according to claim 39,including database means external to said originating carrier containingrouting and cost information relating to said possible communicationcarriers, and/or subscriber specific information to be used by saidprocessing means for the processing of the communications controlsignals.
 58. A communications control system according to claim 39,adapted to validate and/or authenticate signals passed between saidcommunications switching means and said processing means.
 59. Acommunications control system according to claim 39, wherein one or moreof said communication switching means operates as a service switchingpoint and/or said processing means includes a service control point inan intelligent network implementation.
 60. A communications controlsystem according to claim 39, wherein said receiving means and saidreturning means are adapted to receive and return, respectively, ISDNsignals and/or Signalling System No 7(SS7/CCS7) signals as saidcommunications signals.
 61. A communications control system according toclaim 39, including means for communicating and/or interworking withother like communications control systems to provide multiple points ofcontrol in a multi-carrier communications network.
 62. A communicationscontrol system according to claim 39, wherein said communicationscontrol system and/or other like communication control systems areadapted to retain control of or an influence over said communicationsand/or information associated therewith and to carry out furtherprocessing upon receipt of further communications control signals.
 63. Acommunications control system according to claim 39, including means forreceiving and storing billing information from said communicationsnetwork for the purpose of billing for communications associated withthe processed communications control signals.
 64. A communicationscontrol system according to claim 63, wherein said billing informationis utilisable to validate and/or adjust information on communicationscosts.
 65. A communications control system according to claim 39,wherein said communications control system is adapted to send or causeto be sent processed communication control signals to communicationsswitching means other than said one or more communications switchingmeans.
 66. A communications control system according to claim 65,wherein said communications control system is adapted to receive furthercommunications control signals upon said similar communicationsswitching means receiving said processed communication control signals.67. A communications control system according to claim 66, wherein saidcommunications control system may be external or internal to any of thecommunications carriers associated with said communications.
 68. Acommunications control system according to claim 39, wherein saidcommunications control system is adapted to process the communicationsto include control signals and/or routing information for one or more ofsaid selected combination of communications carriers and/or instructionsfor a one of said switching means to pass on said control signals and/orrouting information to said one or more of said selected combination ofcommunications carriers, whereby said one of the switching means sendssaid control signals and/or routing information and/or like instructionsto other communications switching means in at least one of the saidselected combination of communications carriers, which then route saidcommunications in accordance with said further control signals and/orrouting information.
 69. A communications control system according toclaim 39, wherein said communications control system is adapted toprocess the communications to include control signals and/or routinginformation for one or more of said selected combination ofcommunications carriers used for routing said communications and/orinstructions for one or more of said switching means to process and thenpass on said control signals and/or routing information for one or moreof said selected combination of communications carriers, whereby theswitching means sends said control signals and/or routing informationand/or like instructions to other switching means in at least one ofsaid one or more of said selected combination of communicationscarriers, which then route said communication in accordance with saidfurther control signals and/or routing information.
 70. A communicationscontrol system according to claim 39, wherein said communicationscontrol system includes control switching means for receiving requeststo route said communications to said control switching means and/or therouting of said communications.
 71. A communications control systemaccording to claim 39, adapted to control the selection of part of theroute in a communications routing chain.
 72. A communications controlsystem according to claim 39, adapted to control the selection of allcarriers used in a communications routing chain thereby achievingend-to-end routing control.
 73. A method of routing communications fromand/or to a subscriber connected to an originating carrier, via acombination of communications carriers selected from a plurality ofpossible communications carriers, the method comprising the steps of:generating information for processing outgoing and/or incomingcommunications control signals in dependence upon third party directionsand using information comprising information associated with thecommunications services of each of said plurality of possiblecommunications carriers and possible combinations thereof at controlmeans external to said originating carrier for selecting saidcombination; passing the generated information to a controller in theoriginating carrier and/or other carriers used for said routing;receiving communications control signals associated with saidcommunications from a communications switching means at one or more ofsaid controllers; processing said communications control signals at saidone or more controllers using the generated information to select acombination of communications carriers for routing communications to thedestination based on the said information comprising information, and togenerate processed communications control signals for routing thecommunications in accordance with the selected combination; returningthe processed communication control signals to said communicationsswitching means; and switching the communications from and/or to thesubscriber to route the communications via the selected combination ofcommunications carriers in accordance with the processed communicationscontrol signals.
 74. A method according to claim 73 wherein saidprocessing step includes processing said communications control signalsat respective ones of said more than one controllers using the generatedinformation to select a respective communications carrier, therebyselecting said combination of communications carriers.
 75. A methodaccording to claim 74, wherein the independent control means includes aservice control point and/or the controller is a service control pointin an intelligent network implementation.
 76. A communications controlsystem for routing communications from and/or to a subscriber connectedto an originating carrier to a destination via a combination ofcommunications carriers selected from a plurality of possiblecommunications carriers, the system being independent to saidoriginating carrier and comprising: means for generating information forprocessing outgoing and/or incoming communications control signals independence upon directions from a third party and using informationcomprising information associated with the communications services ofeach of said plurality of possible communications carriers and possiblecombinations thereof; and means for passing the generated information toa controller in the originating carrier; whereby the controller receivescommunications control signals associated with communications from saidcommunications switching means, processes said communications controlsignals using the generated instructions to select a combination ofcommunications carriers for routing communications to the destinationbased on the said information comprising information and to generateprocessed communications signals for routing the communications inaccordance with the selection, and returns the processed communicationscontrol signals to said communications switching means, and thecommunications from and/or to the subscriber are switched to route thecommunications via the selected combination of communications carriersin accordance with the processed communications control signals.
 77. Acommunications control system according to claim 76, operable as one ofa plurality of communications control systems in a communicationsnetwork, wherein said system is adapted to process said communicationscontrol signals at respective ones of said plurality of communicationscontrol systems using the generated information to select a respectivecommunications carrier, thereby selecting said combination ofcommunications carriers.
 78. A communications control system accordingto claim 76, wherein said instruction generating means and passing meansincludes a service control point adapted to communicate with saidcontroller and/or wherein said controller comprises a service controlpoint in an intelligent network implementation.